


Underestimation

by BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: A Different Cleave, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Card Symbolism, Destiny, Episode: The Tavern at the End of the Multiverse, Family Issues, Gen, Grandma Room - Freeform, Implied Toffee-Mina Parallels, Queens of Mewni - Freeform, Sharing the Magic, Single Star Butterfly, Tapestries, What if the other kingdoms contributed?, finale rewrite, legacy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-05-13 15:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19254271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk/pseuds/BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk
Summary: "Do you know about the playing cards?" The Shy asked."That terrible symbolism for royalty?" The Heaped responded."Erm, okay," answered the Uncalculated. "I know those were used by interdimensional witches!"The Shy gave them a sharp-toothed smile, as her dead eyes and crescent cheeks began to glow. She summoned out 4 playing cards—a spade, a club, a diamond, and a heart."The game of cards was always a game of chance and destiny," She then smashed the four into her fingers.





	1. And Away From Mewni Fled

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Cocoon of Limbo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18918823) by [BeezandBitches](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeezandBitches/pseuds/BeezandBitches). 



The Queen of Hours stood in the empty room, save for her tapestry, beholding her in her glory as a Queen.

 

Upon the carved onyx laid her poem, and she declared to herself, "May every Queen see this glory the way I am now."

 

She waited alone for a period of time indescribable, then was suddenly alerted at the sound of clanking metal needles.

 

Two pairs at work, following after her own.

 

_My children_ , she thought to herself, as two stones sprung forth from the ground. The first was amethyst carved in the luck of clovers. The second, carved in deathly thunder, was carnelian.

 

Her son, the Uncalculated, seemed to be defined by his misfortunes. Her daughter, the Monster Carver, however, was manifested by her successes. Such contrasting legacies! The Queen of Hours wondered how she brought up such colorful children.

 

As the needles stopped, the Monster Carver's tapestry sparkled and began to glow. The Queen of Hours braced herself, as then appeared her daughter, the smell of blood ridding the room of its smell of dusty books.

 

The Monster Carver was startled, unaccepting of her defeat.

 

"Solaria," spoke the Queen of Hours, bearing a regal voice that clearly stood well against the forces of time.

 

The Monster Carver wept, seeing the emptiness in her mother's eyes while her very own began to cloud.

 

An embrace. A hush of silence. A whimper of regret.

 

"I have much left behind, Mother!" Exclaimed the Monster Carver. "My darling Eclipsa! My good brother-"

 

The Queen of Hours silenced her daughter, an alien comfort in her ghostly arms. "Have I not left in a similar manner, Daughter?"

 

She sighed as she moved her daughter, both facing the tapestries present. "Time's arrow merely marches forward, and so must we."

 

The Monster Carver gave her mother a look of distraught confusion until she could no longer hold and resigned to tears of ashes.

 

They talked on, throwing their criticisms at the tapestry work, comparing and contrasting. Time seemed like nothing to them.

 

The roar of thunder and violin quivers shook the two present, the floor's sudden glow causing them to stand.

 

The floor projected a violet spade, a haunting glow; the wall space next to the Monster Carver's tapestry turned black. Emerging from the black brick were needles of duskglass, weaving with a dark purple thread. From the ground, an untamed saturnstone geode:

 

**_Eclipsa, Queen of Darkness_ **

 

The Monster Carver's eyes widened at the words, bravely nearing the geode.

 

"My precious Eclipsa," she touched the saturnstone, which then burst out greenish-grey gas. The Queen of Hours was startled at the sight of this action, pausing in her motions when it had appeared her daughter was not harmed.

 

As the gas faded, the words on the geode gave a ghastly glow:

 

_Eclipsa, Queen of Mewni_

_To a Mewman King was wed_

_But took a Monster for her love_

_And away from Mewni fled_

 

The Queen of Hours gasped, hearing the words fly out of her daughter's mouth.

 

"This can't be right," Spat out the Monster Carver, a sense of panic and unfamiliar vulnerability bubbling from within her. "No no no no no, she can't,"

 

A sob.

 

"No!" A stomp.

 

The ground shook back to make her fall. She held her tears.

 

"The tapestry," Awe and fear were in the voice of the Queen of Hours.

 

The Monster Carver's clouded eyes gazed at her daughter's tapestry—a menacing portrait of her daughter in the arms of the Prince of Darkness.

 

The Monster Carver knew that beast, a creature that could change its size. The beast lorded over the monsters that she had sought to purge Mewni of.

 

And her daughter, her intelligent, beautiful, and powerful daughter, chose this monstrosity over the wonderful Kingdom of Mewni.

 

_What could bring my girl to do this? Was the monster so enticing?_

 

She dared to share her title with the enemy.

 

The Monster Carver wept again. The Queen of Hours did not know what to do.

 

The Queen of Hours tried to calm down her daughter once more. The Monster Carver had her love for family. She then began to ponder about her enigma of a granddaughter.

 

None of them knew how long the Monster Carver wept until the click of needles came again, this time at the other side of the Queen of Hours' tapestry, facing the tapestry of the Uncalculated.

 

The room began to smell of corn wine and firework smoke as a well-carved slab of cubic zirconia sprouted from the floor.

 

The two did not recognize the Queen in the finished tapestry, but they felt drawn to her. The Fun was a striking one—they concluded that this must be the daughter of the Queen of Darkness.

 

The Monster Carver began to speculate about the fate of her daughter but was interrupted by her mother, who directed her to the tapestry of her brother.

 

The tapestry sparkled and began to glow, a tall and masculine figure emerging from the tapestry.

 

The Uncalculated nearly fell as he felt the void-like ground, caught in the ghostly arms of his mother and sister.

 

He had not seen them in so long, a feeble smirk upon his countenance. His face looked burdened by a perpetual sorrow, and the lifelessness of his eyes made him more pitiful than powerful.

 

He held his family in an embrace, delirious giggling coming out of him. The women of his life could only wail and form a chorus with his laughter.

 

"Eclipsa?!" He cried as he suddenly let go of his mother and sister. His beloved niece, a part of his time was given just for her.

 

"Jushtin-"

 

"Where is she?" He asked in great volume. His gasp kept the two from replying as he caught the tapestry of the Queen of Darkness.

 

He neared the embroidered rug, catching slivers of purple glow within the fabric lining.

 

"I'd be careful with that saturnstone," Said the Monster Carver.

 

"Oh!" He stopped before almost bumping into the geode. He read the poem and sighed in sadness.

 

"Why isn't she here?" He asked them, still mesmerized by the glow of the saturnstone.

 

"Whatever do you mean, Jushtin?" Asked his mother.

 

"How long has it been?" Asked his sister.

 

"I've lived a long life. I bet little Tivi is throwing a grand funeral for me," The Uncalculated began to ramble. "The Magical High Commission told me of the terrible things that happened to our darling Eclipsa—lured by the Prince of Darkness, explaining her behaviors and her power over dark magic-"

 

"Dark magic?" The Queen of Hours was taken aback. "No Queen has ever survived exposure to dark magic, let alone manipulate various kinds of magic at once! There is no way!"

 

The Uncalculated breathed and faced his mother and sister. "She did it—the MHC said all her spells contained an amount of dark magic, ranging from a drop to excessive amounts. They immediately declared her chapter forbidden."

 

"Forbidden?" The Monster Carver was trying to process the information.

 

"I could only wonder what stress her daughter underwent," The Queen of Hours then faced the tapestry of the Fun, and the Uncalculated immediately ran towards it.

 

"There's Tivi," He remarked, reading her poem to himself.

 

"What else did they tell you, brother?" Solaria faced him, her voice riddled with a common determination.

 

"I, well-" He faced them again and leaned on the cubic zirconia slab. "Eclipsa...had been eaten by the monster, alongside her husband Shastican."

 

The Queen of Hours gasped, wanting to faint if it weren't for the fact that she was an obvious apparition.

 

"E-eaten?" Anger.

 

"The five were witness to the event. Solaria, I'm as distraught as-"

 

He was cut off as the Monster Carver sent a punch towards her daughter's tapestry—the cloth immediately curled itself into her hand and she aggressively tried to pull her hand out.

 

"Solaria!" Cried her mother and brother.

 

She growled. "Help me!"

 

The Uncalculated and the Queen of Hours immediately ran towards the Monster Carver, quickly but gently unwrapping the cloth from her hand. The Monster Carver's hand gleamed purple for a brief second until it immediately faded back to normal.

 

The Monster Carver was panting, almost choking in the firework smoke, mint cologne, dried blood smell, and dusty books.

 

"Are you alright, dear?" Asked her mother.

 

"How can I be alright?! My daughter, mother! My daughter!" She could not talk. She could only feel.

 

The Uncalculated sighed as he and his sister shared each other's tears.

 

"They managed to rescue Festivia," He continued to narrate between mild sobs. "Her child with Shastican; the Prince of Darkness was infuriated at the newborn, apparently thinking that Eclipsa had betrayed him."

 

The Monster Carver curled into a ball on the void floor. The Uncalculated sat next to her to comfort her.

 

"I pray for that poor Festivia," muttered the Queen of Hours. "Forced to keep a smile amongst the Mewmans."

 

"Isn't that the job, mother?" The Uncalculated caught his mother at her throat.

 

"Y-yes, son." And the Queen of Hours wept, sitting next to her children.


	2. No Magic on Mewni was Greater

Sleep was a possibility, feeling awoken at the sound of needles at work once more.

 

Two pairs at work, raising the curiosity of the three. Both followed after the Fun's, in parallel with the Queen of Hours.

 

The first one produced a cylindrical pillar of obsidian, while the second produced a bunny-carved slab of rose quartz.

 

The tapestries depicted two Queens, close in age, drastically different from one another. The first depicted a large, brooding figure within the confines of a castle room, light only coming from the apparent window. Perfectly hand-drawn circles surrounded her and her tears. The second depicted a more miniature girl, her magical glory at display within the Forest of Certain Death.

 

The three neared the tapestries, disappointment at The Heaped and praise for The Eager.

 

They began to discuss the two tapestries, as well as their perspective own tapestries. Time passing on brought a sense of settlement with their hearts, the Monster Carver's heart most especially.

 

A sizzling sparkle and glow came from The Fun's tapestry, unnoticed by the three, engrossed in a conversation about their opinion on Pie.

 

"Why don't you eat the sweet ones anyway, Jushtin?" Asked the Monster Carver.

 

"They're far too rich!" The Uncalculated complained. "I could get my sweetness from pudding instead."

 

"You and your sweet tooth," remarked the Queen of Hours.

 

"Is that pie you guys are talking about?"

 

The Uncalculated gasped in immediate recognition. The Fun had entered the room unnoticed.

 

"Festivia!" He ran into her embrace. The two were giddy with one another, laugh-crying together.

 

"You've grown so beautifully," Said the Uncalculated with a dead smile, brushing a strand of the Fun's unruly hair.

 

"Oh, you're making me blush Grunkle!"

 

"So this is Festivia the Fun," The Monster Carver heard good things about the Fun from her brother.

 

"Granny!" She immediately ran into the Monster Carver's arms for an embrace. The Monster Carver softened.

 

The Queen of Hours greeted The Fun with warmth.

 

The Fun looked around.

 

"Where's Mom?" She asked.

 

"She hasn't arrived yet," replied The Uncalculated.

 

"What?" The Fun was confused.

 

The three began to share their sentiments with The Fun. She could only sigh.

 

She approached the Queen of Darkness's tapestry with caution, intimidated. She was warned about the geode and the tapestry itself.

 

From that point, the next few Queens would come, and after more time would pass another tapestry and poem.

 

Tensions began when the Fun's daughters were together once more. The rest would try to maintain peace and keep the two from bickering.

 

At some point, the Riddled's tapestry and poem were shown. The Riddled was shown in her glory, a somber expression amongst piles of puzzles, blocks, and various scrolls of paper. Her wand seemed to be paused in action as it was raised in the air. Her poem was written in a mix of present day Mewman writing and Low Mewnian, inscribed onto a furnished painite geode.

 

When the Shy's tapestry came, everyone present was drawn to it. It showed the Queen hiding in her quarters from nosy suitors, her iconic fan upon her. The crystal was unidentifiable, and the people present played a game to guess the crystal. _Moonstone? Jade? Opal? Mirrorshade pearl? Bolide debris? Hellglass?_ No one knew.

 

When the Riddled arrived, she proved to be quite the entertainer. Not a moment of boredom ever graced the area. The Eager had never been more proud of her daughter.

 

The Drafted's tapestry was a pleasing self-portrait—the Queen in question was the pinnacle of silent sophistication. Her poem was inscribed on a pillar sculpted meticulously to look like a flower. The stone looked like hematite but crushed and solidified once more.

 

The Shy arrived quietly, but the room seemed to give her a show. She was in a constant state of glamour, proving more beautiful than the figure depicted in her tapestry. Actually, she proved the tapestry inaccurate as well. Despite keeping that fan in her gloved claws, her full face could still be glimpsed—fangs protruding out of soft, delicate lips. Dead, unblinking eyes that seemed to burn with a devilish flame. Skin more alive than dead, befitting that hidden part of her nature. No one but her mother knew of the curled horns hiding in her heaps of wavy hair, or that piercing and powerful tail underneath the layers of robes.

 

(After all, boys don't make passes at girls with devil tails.)

 

The others could only remark on her beauty. Getting the Shy to chat was a pain.

 

They watched the Drafted when she arrived. She embraced her mother, simply waved and kissed her other relatives in greeting. She was as silent as her mother, perpetually taken by the area's tapestries.

 

The room then shook suddenly, as a pair of needles went to work. The wall next to these needles produced white brick. The floor produced a glowing blue diamond in the sound of rainfall and harp playing. The first pair of needles finished while the ones next to it began its slow work.

 

The Chef's tapestry brought intrigue to everyone in the room, for the Queen in question shared her glory with the babe in her arms. The babe had diamonds on her cheeks. They concluded that the child was special. The Chef's poem however brought dread to them. While carved into a beautiful pillar of baker's quartz, the poem made them realize the true glory of the Chef's daughter.

 

Still trying to make sense of the Chef's poem, glittering glow and screaming caught their attention—the Chef appeared so suddenly, all of them in horror. Her mother was most horrified.

 

They caught her before she could crash into the void-floor. The woman was kicking and screaming. The Queen of Hours suddenly remembered when her daughter first arrived.

 

"Stop! Stop! Batwin, get out!!!"

 

The Drafted barely spoke, but she did when it concerned her daughter. "Comet,"

 

"Calm her down!"

 

"Restrain her properly!"

 

The Chef could only hyperventilate, choking on the dread of death, mixed smells, and the ironic stench of her much preferred Peace Day Pie.

 

"Comet, please calm down," Her mother could only plead so much.

 

The Chef began to calm, but her cheeks began to glow. "No no no no,"

 

"There's nothing we could do."

 

The Chef breathed.

 

"This wasn't supposed to happen," was all she could muster, suddenly sitting flat down on the floor, clenching where she knew the pain was.


	3. A Trove of Cosmic Secrets

"What happened, dear?" The Drafted asked her in concern.

 

"I," The Chef did not know where to start, overwhelmed at the sight of her relatives.

 

_Oh good, my old-fashioned family!_

 

She sighed, tearing up. "I have been making efforts to achieve peace with the looked-down-upon citizens of Mewni—those you call monsters."

 

A surprise came to them all.

 

"Peace...with monsters?" The Monster Carver did a double take.

 

"I don't mean to offend you, my dear," The Eager condescended, "but how could you achieve peace with such gruesome creatures?"

 

The Chef resisted glaring at her older relatives.

 

"I almost had it," She talked back in a determined tone. Softening, "Batwin and I were getting along. My hospitality was tremendous!"

 

She began to glance at the tapestries. "I had so much planned collaborations—feeding programs, charities, educational reforms—I had to get things done around that close-minded MHC!"

 

The Chef slowly got up, "For guardians of magic, you'd think they'd have more open views. Corn, they were around for so long! I doubt much their wisdom."

 

The Chef began to ramble and ramble, hardship after hardship, wondering how her starkly open mind failed in securing what she had wanted.

 

"Are you so bold to feed your child such foolish ideas?" The Eager whispered into the ear of the Drafted.

 

"Those aren't mine." She asserted. "A cultured Queen is what I wanted to raise, and so that she became. Any 'foolish idea' I didn't expect her to pick up comes from the multiverse she dared to explore."

 

The Eager did not know what to comment.

 

"Balee baloo, balee baloo, I let you go, I let you go," The Chef concluded, taking in one large breath.

 

Just as she finished, the sound of rising crystal caught their attention.

 

The Chef could tell immediately and ran towards the tapestry.

 

"My Moonpie," Her eyes widened at the picture.

 

The Columbian crystal needles sunk into the wall as the lining of the tapestry fabric gleamed in blue light. The Undaunted was seen riding a healthy pig-goat, mustering dark magic upon her wand, firing at the Lizard. His finger was severed from her, a shock and terror upon his countenance.

 

The crystal was obviously from the Crystal Dimension—it flared brightly into the eye as the Chef touched it:

 

_**Moon the Undaunted** _

 

"It appears she has avenged you," Remarked the Monster Carver from the back. The rest seemed to sound in agreement.

 

The Chef began to read.

 

_The immortal monster_

_will long be haunted_

_by the darkest spell of_

_Moon the Undaunted._

 

"I'm so sorry, my dear Moon," Muttered out the Chef, her vision cloudy and cheeks glowing brighter.

 

The Queens after this communed together frequently. The Chef took comfort surprisingly with the Monster Carver. She didn't think it possible, but they somehow managed.

 

"It's kinda weird that the room would react like that to this Moon when it hasn't for any of us," The Heaped said out of the blue, only heard by a few.

 

"Actually, this has happened before," the Uncalculated said grimly, facing the tapestry of the Queen of Darkness.

 

"It happened to Grandma Eclipsa?" She asked the Uncalculated.

 

"It did. Terrified my mother and sister when it happened," He replied.

 

"What, is that supposed to mean something?"

 

"...I hope it's nothing too terrible."

 

" _Their power..._ " A whisper surprised the two.

 

The Shy covered herself, realizing she spoke out loud while eavesdropping at their conversation.

 

"Ya got something to say, grandniece?" The Heaped addressed the Shy.

 

Her cheeks only blushed in response.

 

"It is a mystery we would like to figure out," reasoned the Uncalculated.

 

Taken by his charisma, the Shy relented, motioning them to near her as she placed down her fan.

 

"Do you know about the playing cards?" The Shy asked.

 

"That terrible symbolism for royalty?" The Heaped responded.

 

"Erm, okay," answered the Uncalculated. "I know those were used by interdimensional witches!"

 

The Shy gave them a sharp-toothed smile, as her dead eyes and crescent cheeks began to glow. She summoned out 4 playing cards—a spade, a club, a diamond, and a heart.

 

"The game of cards was always a game of chance and destiny," She then smashed the four into her fingers.


	4. Long Be Haunted by the Darkest Spell

"The Queen of Darkness is the Spade," the spade card glowed as it popped out of her clasped claws. Pulling it out, she handed it out for either the Heaped or the Uncalculated to take. "What does tarot say about the Spade?"

 

The Heaped took the card with no hesitation, watching the glow fade into a uniquely different picture.

 

" _ **The Septarian?**_ "

 

The Queen of Darkness's tapestry quivered. This was noticed only by the three.

 

"The Spade is passionate but mysterious," declared the Shy. "Arguing against her might be delirious, for there must be more beyond the words of the stone. Perhaps an epic? A tragedy? Upon that hidden, dark throne."

 

The card then dissipated into gas, a feeling numb to the Heaped.

 

"Would Granny Eclipsa keep her feelings, Uncle?"

 

The Uncalculated was taken aback by The Shy's break in rhyme.

 

"Never. Her heart was always on her sleeve. If she could not say something to her mother, she'll sometimes run to me."

 

Her cheeks faded. Nodding at the response, "Please call my granddaughter."

 

The two found the Chef engrossed in a debate with the Monster Carver. The other Queens were watching.

 

"Those two are really rocky together," remarked the Fun towards the Uncalculated. "And both of them seemed so nice!"

 

The Uncalculated gave her his full attention.

 

"Granny Solaria's just so powerful! She's heroic and awesome! But my descendant Comet is such a sweetheart! We share a love for Pie and people!" The Fun sighed. "If the next Queen was just some sort of a...um, a fun mix of both of them, I would treasure her for eternity."

 

"Don't you have daughters, Tivi?"

 

"How could you, Grunkle Jushtin? Bold of you to assume such a wonderful Queen will keep me from loving my children."

 

"Yo," The Heaped nudged The Uncalculated to present the Chef with her. The Uncalculated looked behind to see the Queen of Hours conversing with the Riddled at the center.

 

"I'll follow ahead, dearie," And the Heaped dragged the Chef to the Shy.

 

"I'm happy you and my Dir are getting along!" The Fun exclaimed. "You must have some charm, Grunkle."

 

"Funny thing is that I was the one drawn to her," The Uncalculated replied. "She suggested an intriguing idea about, um, your Mother, and that Moon who just earned her tapestry."

 

"Hey, great uncle," The Heaped suddenly called out. "Can't start without you."

 

"Oh!"

 

"Hey wait," The Fun interrupted. "Is it alright if I join you?"

 

The Heaped sighed as the Shy motioned the two to come close.

 

The four surrounding the Shy watched her in action.

 

From her clasped claws, out aglow was the diamond. She handed it out for the Chef to take.

 

As the card made contact with her fingers, The Undaunted's tapestry shone a light that nearly blinded everyone in the area. The other Queens immediately turned to the source.

 

" _ **The Queen**_ ," read out the Chef. At this, the other Queens began to near their little circle.

 

Cheeks aglow, the Shy started, "The Undaunted is the diamond, and a born Queen through and through. The future has spoken! To the Queen hardened by trauma and strife, the question is then asked. Will she be brittle in the task? All seems calm now, but will she be ready for the drama to come in her life?"

 

The card in the Chef's hands exploded in blinding light.

 

The Shy then gasped suddenly, dropping the cards in her claws.

 

"Celena, dear! Is something the matter?" Asked the Riddled.

 

The Shy's cheeks were glowing bright, flashing in purple and blue, her claws feeling them burn through the gloves as she touched her cheeks. She shed some tears.

 

"Celena?" Her mother repeated.

 

"The hardest times," She took the cards she dropped, "have begun,"

 

The two cards began to glow brightly as the Shy made them disappear.

 

The Queens around her began to show concern as she began to breathe heavily.

 

She addressed The Heaped and The Uncalculated, "The Queens of the Card Deck are catalysts—the most powerful and the most influential of us Queens. This...um, this realm we are in recognizes that."

 

"What is she on about?" Wondered the Monster Carver out loud.

 

"It is no wonder why The Queen of Darkness has not been present with us," The Shy's dead gaze suddenly turned towards the Monster Carver. "You saw the formation of her tapestry."

 

"And something always happens whenever I touch it," The Monster Carver replied.

 

"Then this realm demands that she be given respect," The Shy went on. "Perhaps she is that important."

 

"Would that also apply to my daughter?" Chimed the Chef. "Things happen too when I interact with her tapestry."

 

"Most likely."

 

"For what reason would Eclipsa be so important?" Riddled the Riddled. "With these implications, we would have to pretend that she is still alive."

 

The Riddled then turned to the Chef. "You. Did you read Eclipsa's chapter?"

 

"No. Although, that is because I am afraid of the dangers of dark magic. My mind is open but I am not that risky,"

 

"Then Moon the Undaunted must have,"

 

"What?!" The Chef protested. "Moon would never! She listens to rules even better than I do."

 

"That may be so," The Riddled began to speculate, "but only the bravest here would risk using it for the good of many."

 

The Riddled then directed everyone's attention to the Undaunted's tapestry and poem. "You recognize this monster, Comet?"

 

She nodded hesitantly.

 

"Alright!" The Riddled began. "The poem says that this monster was haunted by this girl's darkest spell, and yet you claim that she would never use dark magic."

 

"Are you saying she learned that from somewhere?" Asked the Queen of Hours.

 

The Riddled snapped her fingers. "Exactly."

 

"The only Queen we know who is infamous for dark magic is Eclipsa, who is coincidentally given by the room the same amount of respect Moon has. Plus, Eclipsa has never shown up!"

 

"So what you're saying is that Eclipsa is alive?" The Chef asked.

 

"Well, how else could your daughter achieve dark magic? Assuming this happened while you're here, she had no authority to keep her from doing this. It's no wonder," The Riddled backed away from the tapestry, "that this Queen is the Undaunted."

 

"You make no sense, Rhina!" The Uncalculated argued. "The Commission told me Eclipsa was eaten!"

 

"Then why isn't she here?"

 

"Methinks it's the dark magic," The Eager suggested. "As a master at spellcraft, I know for one that dark magic is destructive in nature."

 

Everyone gave her their attention.

 

"My brilliant hypothesis: dark magic taints the caster's soul. Perhaps users of dark magic are given by the room a specific reaction!"

 

They seemed to agree with The Eager's hypothesis, except for the Monster Carver, the Chef and the Shy.

 

"No!" Yelled the Monster Carver. "I refuse to believe that fate! Upon my daughter-?"

 

She began to sob. "I know she was guilty of many terrible deeds, b-but this is my daughter. I know her well enough and that b-beautiful, intelligent girl has a shred of goodness within her."

 

"Maybe you should've cared for her better then,"

 

"What?" Threatened the Monster Carver, teary eyed, cheeks sparking with electricity.

 

"Please, no more fighting!" The Chef pleaded.

 

"You heard me!" Dared the Eager. "Clearly you didn't do well enough as a mother if you can't even keep the fate of your own daughter in check!"

 

The Monster Carver made a sound of outrage.

 

"Enough, Crescenta!" Scolded the Fun. "You have no right to speak to your relatives that way!"

 

"Mom! Have you forgotten how this whole fiasco has affected you? You always cried at night, downing pure, unadulterated, corn wine from your wand! No wonder I can't even get my sister to like me!"

 

"Wooow, 'Scenta! You're literally blaming Mom for us not getting along?!"

 

Soon enough, an argument ensued. Almost all the affected parties spat their fire.

 

The Chef watched in sorrow. She did not like fighting. The heat of it all gave her bad memories of her ex-husband.

 

"If your grandmother's theory is correct," She asked the Shy, "would the same fate happen to my daughter?"

 

"Erm," The Shy hesitated. "I-I don't actually agree with my grandmother's theory, Comet."

 

"No?"

 

"I wish not to doubt her, but I feel confident in the cards." The Shy then summoned the heart and the club. "The diamond and the spade have represented Moon and Eclipsa well. Although, I cannot say whether they live up to the meaning of the tarot--we know so little about their defining deeds."

 

"If only," The Chef then sighed. She had been sitting down with her grandmother for the time. Shock hit them both when they turned to see the scene before them: most of the Queens had their cheeks aglow, ready duke it out.

 

"I have to stop this," The Chef immediately got up.


	5. Star the Underestimated

As she did, the sound of synth harmonized with the metal twinkle of a music box was heard from across the room.

The floor shook, as it split open a crack onto the floor. It was brick the whole time, its illusion of voidness gone.

Everyone gasped.

"We've angered the realm!" The Fun panicked out.

The floor projected a glowing yellow heart. They missed that split second of glitching that occurred—all of them except for the Shy, who caught the neon green club.

Their collective attention was directed to the wall space left in the room, right in between the Queen of Darkness and the Undaunted's tapestry.

The wall space cleaved in half with cracks on the brick, the left gaining gloomy, foresty color with a dash of regal elegance. The right was sparkly, magical, and bright, lined with an edgy ruggedness.

The wall crack began to glow in a color between yellow and green, lining up with the floor cleave. The yellow heart was still being projected, the crack making it look like it was split in half. The half of the floor adjacent to the gloomy half of the wall began to glitch as the floor crack gained its yellow-green glow. When all the cracks were lit, the glitching half of the floor stopped, in the projection of the neon green club.

The sudden sound of howling winds and discordant guitar rang as long as the previous sound did.

There was a pause.

"Is that supposed to mean anything?!" The Heaped put stress on "that", still in shock about what had just happened.

Before any of them could answer, the glowing crack on the wall space began to open, revealing a sparkly static.

"What's this supposed to be?" Questioned the Monster Carver.

The static cleared out to reveal a projection of the throne room in Butterfly Castle, many of the nobility and the royal family in attendance.

_"River, I thought you told Star the time of the ceremony,"_

_"I did, Moonpie! At this point, it's Star's fault that she is late."_

The Chef immediately realized her daughter was all grown up. The thought warmed her heart—and with her own daughter too!

_"Well, we can't start without her!"_

The wand was suddenly in view, gleaming in the sunlight being reflected into the room.

_"For someone so excited about this, you'd think she'd come early."_

_"Well, Star is impatient, just like her father!"_

The Queens slowly began to sit down as they watched, one by one. The Undaunted's tapestry was emitting a glow, left unnoticed.

An aggressive clop of hooves was heard from the projection.

_"Sweetheart?"_

_"Yes, River?"_

_"Do you hear a warnicorn charging nearby?"_

_"...no, River."_

The two remained still and quiet until the door was burst open by a blond girl riding atop an actual warnicorn.

The court erupted in panic as the girl jumped off the warnicorn, the animal making a hole in the wall.

The blond girl was the crowned princess at the moment, and the Queens watching were very unnerved.

The Shy caught the girl's cheekmarks—this was the heart. She pulled out the heart from her sleeve, its glow fading.

_"Now Star, this wand is a big responsibility!"_

It read:  _ **The Master of the Book**_

_"If it gets into the hands of evil forces..."_

The Shy's eyes widened—no one ever got what she liked to call the "Glossy card". Well, except for Glossaryck himself.

_"Don't worry, mom! I can handle it."_

The projection turned into static once more and it briefly came back.

_"No! I can be good! Please!"_

The Queens noticed the commotion behind the princess and her parents.

_"Sweetheart, we're not sending you there!"_

_"Oh!"_

_"Yet,"_

_"We're sending you to a safer dimension; a place called Earth."_

_"Earth?"_

Static again.

They waited.

"That's quite unheard of," remarked The Eager.

"This confuses me," Spoke the Monster Carver. "I was told that Earth was a magic-less dimension. If this princess wishes to perfect her magic, why in a dimension like that?"

Before anyone could answer, the projection came back, albeit glitching.

_"Marco—want to—foreign excha—dent—Star Butterfly!"_

_"No—"_

_"Thanks for—"_

_"Frankly, I like taking risks and would welcome a little danger in my life!"_

The Queens began to murmur about the boy who was finally visible in the projection.

The princess then blasted at a butterfly, transforming it into a monster. The creature then carried off a random passerby. This sight horrified the Queens.

_"What the heck was that?!"_

_"Oops. Heh, I thought you wanted a little bit of danger."_

The boy backed away from the princess.  _"Who are you?"_

While casting a flambow, _"I'm a magical princess from another dimension!"_

Static.

_"Star Butterfly! At last I found you!"_

Many of the Queens were repulsed at the sight of the kappa onscreen—an Avarius who wished the powers of the royal wand.

_"Ludo! How did you know I was here?"_

_"Wouldn't you like to know?"_

_"Yes, that's—asked."_

_"Well—hey—nything! Get her!"_

The projection glitched again, providing glimpses of the princess and the boy holding their own against the evil kappa and his monstrous henchmen.

The static then transitioned into a different event.

_"Radiant Shadow Transform!"_ The princess immediately changed into more menacing clothing.

_"Woah! Do me! Do me!"_

_"Radiant Shadow Transform!"_

The boy immediately looked like a common princess.

_"Aw, you couldn't turn me into one of those guards—masks?"_

_"I don't—ink is definitely—lor."_

The projection would glitch in these intervals for a while.

_"Every one of you is here for a reason."_

Static.

_"I'm confident that you will become perfect princesses. One way or another."_

A glitch.

_"Keep—pinkies—ninety degrees—tea please."_

_"This is my worst nightmare."_

_"Yeah—see what you mean."_

Glitch again.

_"I need some kind of distraction."_

_"Well, they're not gettin' my individuality!"_

_"That's—Come on! It's not criminal—"_

_"—TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL!!!"_

Static transitioned into another scene.

The boy, in perfect disguise was being visibly brainwashed by the warden.

_"Make it stop—"_

A blast.

_"I'm blastin' our way outta here! Mar—"_

Glitching again.

_"No! Shoo shoo shoo shoo shoo! Go away! Ah!"_

The screen glitched as the warden was revealed to have cheekmarks. This elicited a violent reaction from the Queens.

"That can't be right," remarked the Riddled.

The Shy noticed the marks were clubs, immediately pulling out the club, holding it next to the heart. The club's glow faded.

_"No no, stop it! Stop it! You saw nothing!"_

_**Death**_  was the word that lined the club. The Shy dropped the cards in shock, causing a brief reaction of liquid and electricity.

This caused the room to react, the broken static stopping at what appeared to be a Mewnipendence Day reenactment.

_"Hey Star,"_  The boy was one of the knights. The princess was fittingly dressed as the Queen.  _"I've been looking through your book and something seems...off."_

_"What do you mean? Let me see!"_

She struggled to get the illustrated storybook and opened it on a particular page.

One clean glitch of static.

_"Star, I know the monsters are bad but, this seems...unfair."_

_"Unfair?"_

Another clean glitch.

It was the Mewnipendence feast, albeit in a small, uniquely furnished commoner's house.

The boy handed the book to the princess.

_"Are you sure this is accurate?"_

_"You know what? I think it's time to put this book away,"_

A long static. Then suddenly, the outskirts of Castle Avarius.

The wand, in the princess's hand, was aglow and pointed against the kappa prince.

_"Where's Marco?!"_

_"I don't know who you're talking about!"_

_"She's talking about karate-boy,"_ She aimed her wand at a buff frogman.  _"Please, no more laser beams!"_

_"I swear,"_ The kappa spoke again.  _"I have no idea where your friend is!"_

_"Then why did you summon me to your Castle?"_

_"It's is not his castle anymore,"_ said the frogman.

_"He's right,"_ cried the kappa. " _It's Toffee's castle now!"_

The whole room gasped. That was the name of the prince who murdered the Chef. Her spine shivered as she internalized the words.

_"Wait wait wait—"_  The projection began to glitch.  _"You have no idea—how powerful Toffee is—"_

_"—I will guide you."_

_"I don't really trust you—"_

_"—but consider the alternative—"_

_"—Toffee is not like Ludo—he knows—does not like—magic."_

_"—We going in the count of—one—"_

The screen showed various alternating shots of the princess fighting the monster henchmen and trying to free the boy from an impenetrable box.

_"Stop,"_

The Lizard's voice sent fear and anger, the emotions being present among the Queens.

_"That's no way to treat,"_  He regenerated his freshly severed arm,  _"our guest of honor."_

The scene cleanly glitched to the sight of the boy about to be crushed, the princess in obvious defeat.

She walked up onto the table where the Lizard sat and waited. On his platter, she dropped the wand.

_"Fine. Take it. Now let Marco go."_

The Queens weren't sure how to react, as the glitching sped up the presentation.

_"I don't want your wand. Destroy it—It's the first spell your mother taught you."_

_"The Whispering Spell!"_

_"Exactly—"_

It then cut to the Princess actually destroying the wand. The words of the spell kept blurring the scene until it was completely static.

"She just destroyed the wand," The Queen of Hours pointed out.

"Oh, how dreadfully irresponsible! Just to save that one boy!" Commented the Eager.

"I'm having trouble processing what I just saw," said the Fun.


	6. Was Queen For Just Four Days

They were all surprised when the screen came back on, with an obvious split in the center. The left side of the split was projecting, the right in static.

  

The Undaunted was being presented. _"Star, you have abused your magic, frightened Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, and destroyed your wand."_

 

A glitch.

 

 _"But look,"_ The wand entered the view, obviously different, " _the wand's fine! Sort of._ "

 

 

The left turned static as the right began to project.

 

The kappa prince from earlier was shown, dressed pitifully in a bag of corn chips.

 

A variation of the wand came into view.

 

"Is that," The Queen of Hours pointed out. "...the Wand?"

 

A long period of static for both sides.

 

"I thought the Whispering Spell was supposed to destroy the wand!" Reacted the Monster Carver.

 

"It looks like it was severed in half," Stated the Uncalculated.

 

The presentation moved back to the left.

 

Glossaryck was in view, watching the princess trying to pry open her closet door.

 

" _What are you doing?"_

 

The girl screamed in surprise. " _Uh, hey Glossaryck. My wand's locked in the closet._ "

 

The screen glitched again.

 

" _You've never heard of the hard way--I can teach you_."

 

" _Teach me_."

 

Glitch.

 

_"Okay, look. You can do magic without your wand. You just have to dip down, ya know? Dip down. Dip down!"_

_"Without my wand?"_

Glossaryck shrugged. _"Your mom did it."_

 

The left half glitched to the princess's mirror.

 

_"Call Mom."_

_"Calling Mom."_

The Undaunted picked up. _"Star?"_

_"Hi Mommy."_

 

In suspicion, _"What did you do?"_

 

The princess was appalled at the question. _"Okay, Marco's locked in my closet and Glossaryck wants me to dip down to get him out."_

_"Dip down? I didn't learn that until I was 19!"_

_"Wow!"_ The princess was shocked at that development. So were the Queens, most of which have dipped down even older than the Undaunted. Some have never dipped down at all.

 

_"So I'm, like, advanced,"_

_"I suppo--it's not easy. If you want to dip down, you have to summon everything you have."_

_"Everything?!--"_

_"--you do know what I mean by everything--"_

 

A brief glitch, not too long, not too short.

 

_"Star, I found the thing--there's English! Chapter One: Mom's...a Poop Head?--"_

The princess began to bang on the closet door. _"Marco, it's not the thing, it's not the thing!"_

_"Chapter 11, my thoughts on... Marco."_

The princess then achieved the feat and dipped down, managing to free the boy from the closet.

 

Static consumed the left, as the right came on.

 

A number of the Queens groaned in frustration seeing the kappa prince again.

 

_"I don't know girls. Maybe this isn't what it looks like. It looks like a magic wand but..."_

 

A spider present with him attempted to eat the wand, but he swung it away before it could.

 

_"What did I say? Follow--Three--I don't know, maybe it's just a baby rattle."_

 

The spider yoinked the wand.

 

 _"What are you doing? No--"_ The spider was dragging the poor kappa, _"--No no let go--You let go of my thing!!!"_

 

He then managed to blast the spider in the face with a powerful green beam. The Queens were alarmed, loud violent cries of fear.

 

"He can use magic with it?!"

 

"Well, if that Star can with a cleaved wand then so could the monster!"

 

"It's a monster with magic--no, a monster prince with magic! Do you not know what doom could befall Mewni if they had magic?"

 

The left then began to light up in glitching as the right transitioned through static. The Queens stopped their bickering when the presentation came back.

 

_"You can talk?"_

_"Look, I know how to cast a spell, okay?"_

_"Glossaryck!"_

 

The glitching stopped, revealing the princess and the kappa against each other again. Now with wands of their own.

 

The entire screen was projecting, but the crack was still there.

 

 _"You have a wand?"_ The two said at the same time.

 

 _"You both have wands."_ The boy pointed out.

 

_"Okay, seriously Marco, that's getting annoying."_

_"Actually, he's right."_ The princess agreed.

 

The broken screen glitched to reveal the two failing at spellcasting.

 

" _This is the worst wand fight I've ever seen,"_ The boy commented.

 

The broken screen began to flip out.

 

_"Come with me or die--What? A book!"_

_"Warnicorn S-s-s-stampede!!!"_

The kappa's laughter was glitching out, a horrific sound that began to irritate the Queens.

_"There's a book."_

 

Full static. Another long one.

 

"Isn't that one of your spells, Mother?" The Uncalculated asked the Queen of Hours.

 

"Of course! I would remember my own spells, Jushtin."

 

Their conversation was cut when the screen came back--only the left half of it.

 

 _"We're all royalty, as you know. There is a way we can settle this petty dispute like the civilized people we are,"_ The Undaunted's escort spoke, then pulling out a flag, _"With flags!"_

 

"The King is...a Johansen." Pointed out the Eager.

 

"So," The Chef responded, "what of it?"

 

"Nothing! It's just not what I expected."

 

"Don't act like you know my daughter," Everyone then returned their attention to the broken screen.

 

_"--you won't be playing Flags today."_

_"Why not? You played Flags when you were my age."_

_"I did a lot of things you won't be doing."_

 

A clean glitch.

 

 _"So if both sides of your family are playing against each other. Whose side are we on?"_ Apparently the boy was invited to the Butterfly-Johansen gathering.

 

_"Duh. Our side."_

 

Another.

 

 _"Star! Look at my girl, all grown up and playing Flags."_ The King looked battered. He embraced his daughter. _"You make me so proud."_

 

And another.

 

_"You see what Flags does to your brain?"_

_"I'm sorry I tried to trick you with my corn twin. And maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not ready for Flags. But maybe the real problem is that Flags is dumb."_

 

And another, but more brief and unnoticeable.

 

 _"I was trying to bring all these flags to the top of the hill. Not so that I could win the hill for myself, but to claim the hill for all of us!_ " The princess was cheered on by her relatives.

 

The Undaunted smiled in pride.

 

" _That's the most adult thing I've heard all day. I misjudged you, Star--"_

 

The left turned static for a while, leaving the princess to wait.

 

"Y'know," The Heaped spoke out of the blue. "It's weird that the place is showing us this, like, what's up with Star Butterfly that we're apparently forced to watch her?"

 

"Maybe she'll do something greater than Moon," Suggested the Fun.

 

"Or do something worse than Eclipsa," Rebutted the Eager.

 

The left lit up again, glitchy.

 

_"Oh, you must stop--your spells--your wand--'s contaminated."_

_"How d-d-d-d-d-did that happen?"_

_"The only way is--your wand--but we won't."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Be-be-be-by decree of Moon the Undaunted--that tall--this ride."_

_"Well I-I-I-I, Star the Underestimated, fu-fu-fu-fu-future Queen of Mewni--decree--put me in my wand."_

 

A brief static. As it tried to come back, chips and bits of dialogue began to get the Queen's attention.

 

" _Grandma room--been here--baby!"_

_"--the Shy? Oh! Gr-great-great-grandma-ma Shy!"_ The Shy blushed in shock.

 

 _"—shy—t-t-tell me—"_ The glitching was becoming unnerving to the Shy as she whimpered towards the screen. The Riddled tried to comfort her.

 

" _—Solaria—Monster Carver—a hero born—kneels the void—and crushing force—_ " The Monster Carver hummed in anticipation, wondering if the Underestimated had something to say about her.

 

Apparently not, as the freakish glitching stopped at The Queen of Darkness's tapestry.

 

The Underestimated gasped at the sight and read the poem, shuddering at the impressive rebelliousness.

 

" _Bad g-g-g-g-girl—_ "

 

The freakish glitching started again.

 

"-- _Mom's tapestry--mom fought T-T-T-Toffee?_ "

 

The screen glitched to the sight of The Lizard's finger falling out of the tapestry.

 

The Chef instinctively looked at The Undaunted's tapestry in the room—still intact but brighter than ever.

 

" _That's—thing—doesn't b-b-b-b-bbbb—"_

Static.

 

The left screen settled once more. The Underestimated must've exited the wand.

 

" _What are we learning today?"_

_"Why don't you pick one? Pick anything."_

The Underestimated gasped. _"And Mom would be cool with that?"_

 

" _Yes, there's a lot that I do that your Mom isn't cool with."_

 

A brief clean glitch of static.

 

" _Ohohohoho! What's this?_ "

 

The Queens after The Monster Carver gasped.

 

" _Oh no no no no,_ " Glossaryck grabbed the Spell Book away from the Underestimated.

 

"Eclipsa's chapter!" Exclaimed the Riddled.

 

" _Hey! You said anything_!"

 

" _It's the most dangerous chapter in the book. It shouldn't even be in there. Your mom would totally freak out."_

_"Okay, okay, you sold me! I wanna read that!"_

 

A slapping facepalm was heard among the Queens watching. Actually, multiple.

 

" _Oh, I don't know Star. It could taint you._ "

 

Another glitch of static.

 

" _Uh, Glossaryck,_ " The boy was seen, poking a balloonified Glossaryck. He turned to the Underestimated. " _What's up with him?"_

_"He's on the fritz."_

_"Wait a sec. Are you doing something you're not supposed to?"_

_"Glossaryck said not to turn the page._ " She suddenly had an idea, " _But he didn't say you couldn't..."_

 

"Uh oh," The Fun muttered out weakly.

 

Another static glitch.

 

The Ministry of Magic, and apparently Glossaryck and Rhombulous are in the middle of a fight.

 

" _Now you bring me here while I'm at work doing my job—"_

_"Yes, Glossaryck_." The voice of the Undaunted caught them all by surprise.

 

Glossaryck stopped.

 

" _That's exactly what we're here to talk about."_

 

He bowed down before her. " _My liege."_

_"The Commission has discovered a problem. Something somewhere is sapping the power of magic from the universe."_

_"Yes, that would explain the fritz."_

 

Another glitch of static like previous.

 

"— _whatever's causing it, I want everyone to be on their toes. Especially Star. I need you to accelerate her training."_

_"Yeah...no."_

 

"I'm getting serious Deja Vu from this conversation," Stated the Monster Carver.

 

" _Why all the riddles?"_

 

"Same," Chimed in the Eager.

 

" _You were always very direct when you were training me."_

 

Glossaryck sighed in exasperation.

 

" _Well, it finally happened. Every queen wants to tell me how to do my job. 'My training was different.' You know what Glossaryck hears? Me, me, me, me, me! 'I'm going to pull my mentor away from his job so I can be in the spotlight again.' The only Butterfly to leave me be was your great-great-great-great-great grandmother, Eclipsa the Queen of Darkness, whose chapter, coincidentally, you left Star alone with when you pulled me into this wonderland of red tap_ e."

 

Glossaryck then tapped on Omnitraxus Prime's communicative sphere, revealing the Underestimate and the boy skimming through The Queen of Darkness's chapter.

 

Most of the Queens began to feel a sense of guilt.

 

The Magical High Commission was seen reacting violently.

 

" _You all did this because you don't trust me, and what's worse, you don't trust Star. My queen. My queen, your training was different because Star is different. You have to have faith in her to make choices that are best for her. And my job is to train Star to be a queen_."

 

A glitch in the static.

 

_"So?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"You read the whole the thing?"_

_"Yeah..."_

_"And?"_

_"It wasn't all that. I mean, I get it. Power of darkness, forces of evil, eternal suffering, blah-blah-blah. But honestly, didn't really affect me that much. Just wasn't my thing."_

The Queens sighed collectively in relief as Glossaryck fisted the air in celebration.

 

Then a long static. Another wait.

 

"I'm surprised she wasn't even cursed by the chapter!" The Riddled exclaimed. "I mean, is it cursed? Star looked completely fine."

 

"I still don't know," The Chef argued. "I feel like this might be important to whatever my granddaughter's about to do soon."

 

The left screen then began to glitch, revealing The Underestimated, a girl, and Glossaryck building a summoning shrine.

 

"Oh no," The Queen of Hours muttered loudly when hearing the words "clown ghosts" from the glitching.

 

"What's wrong?" Asked The Fun.

 

"They're summoning clown ghosts! I-I've done that once and I regretted it."

 

"Clown ghosts are the deadliest of the dead," the Shy spoke suddenly.

 

The glitching stopped, presenting The Underestimated, wand in the air and the book open.

 

 _"I summon the All-Seeing Eye,"_ As she recited, the right half of the screen lit up into glitching static.

 

 _"To tear a hole into the sky,"_ The sound of rats echoed from the right screen.

 

The wand was aglow.

 

" _Reveal to me that which is hidden,_ " The wand's crystal emitted a dark purple glow, covering up the wand's face.

 

" _Unveil to me what is forbidden._ " Her eyes snapped open, aglow with her cheeks, as the wand produced a living eye, projecting a dark hole.

 

None of the Queens recognized the spell, but only a few recognized the dark magic.

 

The hole seemed to be obscured for them, but they noticed the growing envy of the Underestimated.

 

As the wand's glow suddenly turned green, an explosion came out of the hole.

 

The princess was shocked and immediately stopped the spell.

 

Then the left turned static, matching with the right.

 

The whole screen began to glitch into a new scene, the laughter of the kappa prince crescendoing.

 

The cleaved screen in its entirety revealed a chaos in a graveyard, a sucking black hole, The Underestimated and the kappa prince fighting against each other for the lives. Also seen was the girl from earlier, the boy but dressed in a fancy suit, and another girl with a uniquely colored strand of hair. Apparently the kappa ruined the attempted seance.

 

 _"What do you want with me?!"_ The Underestimated asked in frustration.

 

The prince chuckled. " _You think I'm here for you. Ah, so selfish. HA!_ " He snapped his fingers. " _Fetch_!"

 

An eagle that was previous shown accompanying the kappa grabbed the Spell Book.

 

The Queens panicked at the sight.

 

" _My spellb-b-b-bbbb—_ "

 

Both halves of the screen began to glitch together in irregular tandem, showing the kappa and his companions getting mystically stuck, but with the Magic Book of Spells.

 

Both screens suddenly shut off. Then the left screen lit up again.

 

It was the aftermath of the fight.

 

_"I can't believe.. Ludo took my spell book. It's got everything in it! That's my whole family history! All the spells.. everything! It's lost!"_

_"We'll get it back,"_

 

The Underestimated was distraught, crying, _"I've lost Glossaryck!"_

_"W-we'll.. We'll get him back, too. I promise."_

 

Static.

 

"I did not just witness that," Choked out the Queen of Hours, almost sounding betrayed.

 

“She just lost the Book of Spells!” Reacted the Riddled

 

“What’s next? She’s gonna destroy all of magic all by herself? The Eager could not bear to watch The Underestimated any longer. “At this rate, she might. She’s as bad as Eclipsa!”

 

“We don’t know that,” The Shy muttered out in response.

 

“She should crush that wretched kappa!” Spat out the Monster Carver. “She can rectify her mistakes if can retrieve not only the Book of Spell but the other half of the wand as well.”

 

“At least it isn’t destroyed...?” The Fun hesitated out.

 

“Yet,” The Queen of Hours said in worry.

 

Suddenly the static stopped and revealed The Underestimated and the boy in preparation.

 

_“At the very least, you should give your mom a call.”_

_“No-no-no! You cannot call my mother. She'd kill me if she found out about this. Ludo stole my book! He... He took Glossaryck! I made this mess. And I'm gonna be the one who cleans it up.”_

 

A brief glitch.

 

The Queens were confused and repulsed at the sight of the frogman, the same one who assisted the kappa prince earlier.

 

A portal was open and out of it came The Underestimated and the boy. They were greeted by the frogman’s tadpoles.

 

_“Buff Frog, I need to know where Ludo's hiding. I think he's planning something big.”_

_“Yes, I know. Did you not get my letters?”_

_“Letters?”_ She then pulled out a bunch of papers with inillegible handwriting and crayon drawings. _“You mean these? I thought the babies were sending us fan art.”_

_“Seriously, who writes warning notes in crayon?”_ The boy commented.

 

The frogman was offended. “ _Oh, so I not go to school for learn fancy handwriting. Sorry!”_

 

The frogman then revealed to them a map containing important information about the kappa’s whereabouts. The Underestimated then thanked him as she and the boy moved on.

 

Then a glitch to a new location: a cave-like area that was dark. A corn mine.

 

The Underestimated groaned.

 

“ _This was all a waste of time. Oh, poor Glossaryck. Who knows what horrible things Ludo's doing to him?”_

_“Well, you tried. And now we can both agree it's time to call your mom for—“_

_“For the last time, Marco, we're not calling my mom!”_

_“Whoa, hey! Calm down. You're not seeing the situation clearly.”_

_“Seeing clearly? ...That's it.”_

 

A glitch.

 

The Underestimated began to recite the spell from earlier, the dark purple flames of the spell lining her screen’s side of the crack.

 

The Queens watched her look and look, confused as the screen refused to reveal what she was spying on.

 

“ _Concentrate. Concentrate on Glossaryck_.” As she said this, the right screen lit up, glitching out the sight that The Understimated was looking for.

 

Glossaryck and the Book of Spells.

 

The Queens gasped in surprise.

 

“ _Glossaryck! Don't worry, I'm coming to rescue you!”_

 

Glossaryck turned around ready to devour a cup of pudding.

 

“ _Wait. Is that... pudding?”_

_“A whole tub of pudding!”_

_“Where are you?”_

_“In flavor heaven!”_

_“No. Physically, where are you?”_

_“...on the ground.”_

_“No!”_ The Underestimated was irritated. “ _Where are you in the universe?”_

_“Oh. Right. I'm in a cave. On the ground.”_

_“Glossaryck, come on!”_

 

The Underestimated tried to reach out for Glossaryck, visually reaching out for the crack on the screen.

 

“ _The spying spell doesn’t work that way.”_

 

She merely grunted in response as she tried to push, dipping down in the process.

 

The Queens were in shock as the hand popped through the other side.

 

“ _Hm. I have never seen that before.”_

_“Just grab my hand!”_

_“Oh, no can do. Sorry. I belong to the book, and the book belongs to Ludo now.”_

_“Ludo stole you!”_

_“Well, that’s out of my hands.”_

_“Come on, Glossaryck, I can almost reach you. Come on...!”_

 

She was, in fact, incredibly close.

 

“ _Yes, you are surprisingly close._ ”

 

“ _Glossaryck, don't you want to come with me? I thought we were... friends.”_

_“Friends? Well, that's such a simple concept.”_

 

A number of the Queens gasped, affected by the two’s relationship.

 

The glow of the princess began to fade.

 

An unnoticable glitch.

 

“ _But I need you!”_

_“Maybe this is what you need_.”

 

A brief static. The aftermath of the Glossaryck fiasco.

 

The Underestimated and the boy were trying to make do with the situation.

 

“ _Oh, my gosh. It is her. We just realized you're Star Butterfly! We're your biggest fans!_ ” A group of rowdy teen monsters ran up to the two.

 

“ _Um, I think you're confused. Monsters hate me.”_

_“Well, sure, it's not popular to like you, but we're not about that.”_

_“Yeah! You’re the rebel princess?”_

_“ **Rebel princess?**_ ” The Queens questioned together with the screen.

 

“ _Yeah! You do things your own way! Like us!”_

A glitch.

 

“ _So what now? the boy asked._

_“Now I call Mom._ ”

 

A brief static, then the Underestimated in her bedroom.

 

“ _Rebel princess doesn’t sit tight,_ ” She said to herself.

 

“ _Rebel princess does things her own way!”_ She then fired a Mega Narwhal Blast.

 

She paused in her motions, then quickly took a college notebook and accessed the pen part of her wand.

 

She wrote on the cover: **_Star’s Notebook of Spells_**

 

Then another brief static.

 

The castle. The Undaunted and her escort were having dinner together.

 

_“I just can't stop thinking about what happened to Glossaryck.”_

_“So? He's gone. Good riddance, I say. Little guy always creeped me out.”_

A few sounds of disgust came from the Queens.

 

“ _But Star is all alone on Earth now at a crucial point in her training. We may need to consider... bringing her back to Mewni.”_

_“Whaaaaat...? Oh, but she's in the middle of school. We can't disrupt her life like that.”_

_“Then that leaves us no choice but to have her evaluated.”_

 

A brief glitchy static.

 

“That’s not a good time for an evaluation,” commented the Fun.

 

The left screen returned to the dining hall with the Quen and King, speaking with the Evaluator.

 

She was eating an apple. “ _Well, she has a closet full of secrets, a broken wand, a notebook containing her own spells, and she doesn't know basic magic.”_

_“So...she failed,”_

 

The Evaluator took a spoon and smacked the King’s arm from getting anymore food.

 

“ _No, my queen. Star is nowhere near your skill level at her age.”_

The Undaunted looked worried, spreading to the Queens watching. The Chef was most affected.

 

“ _She's far beyond it.”_

“What?” The Chef reacted.

 

“Did I hear that right?” The Eager doubted.

 

“ _In fact, I haven't seen anything like this,_ ” She, glitching, took a cupcake and bit into it, _“s-s-since-s-s—since Queen Eclipsa_.”

 

A long static.

 

“Her magic...rivals Eclipsa’s?” The Riddled began to speculate to herself.

 

“That’s it! We’re all doomed,” The Eager reacted.

 

“W-We still don’t know that,” the Shy protested weakly.

 

The right screen then lit up.

 

“ _So when am I going to learn a Narwhal Blast? Pshew-pshew-pshew!”_

_“Oh, oh. Oh, that. Yes, well, mm-hmm... You see, Star made that up. It's not in the book. She just used her imagination for most things.”_

_“Ooh! What's an imagination?”_

 

Glossaryck sighed. “ _Okay. Well, let's start with the basics.”_

 

A glitch transition revealed Glossaryck teaching the kappa prince a specific set of instructions.

 

“Wait, is that my spell?!” The Eager panicked.

 

A brief, unnoticeable glitch.

 

“ _Look, you're really being sloppy. You need to really feel it. Say it with conviction. LLLLLLLLevitato!”_

_“Levitato!”_ The kappa fired at the apple, successfully lifting it.

 

“ _Huh, it worked!”_ The kappa was pleased with his work. “ _Levitato_!” And he used magic to throw the apple to Glossaryck.

 

_“Hey! Now you're getting it. Nice job.”_

_“Am I better than Star?”_

_“Well, I... Well, I guess you're better at following the spell book.”_

 

Another glitch transition. The kappa prince was suddenly awoken by the glow of the wand.

 

_“Are you still awake? I can't sleep either! I'm too excited to sleep! Today was wonderful!”_

“Is he...talking, to the wand?” The Monster Carver announced her confusion. “Jushtin, your wand could talk! Are you getting anything?”

 

“All I’m hearing from this broken screen is humming. No words at all!” The Uncalculated replied.

 

The kappa prince looked like he was rambling.

 

“ _Why would you say that? Glossaryck is proud of me. He said I was better than Star! What do you mean, he showed her something hidden? Don't be silly! We just started. I'm sure we'll get to it soon. He kept it from me on purpose?”_

A transitional glitch, now more freakish. This somehow didn’t affect the audio.

 

“ _Glossaryck. I know this is crazy, but my wand told me... It's my... my wand, he told me there's a chapter in this book that you've shown Star that you haven't shown me. But that's crazy, right?”_

_“No, it’s true.”_

_“What?! Why didn’t you show me?!”_

_“Well, you didn’t ask.”_

An unnoticable audial glitch. “ _Show me_!”

 

Another. _“It could taint you.”_

_“Oh, I got plenty of taint already. Now unlock it!”_

 

Suddenly the static turned to a dead black. Quickly the screen glitched back on.

 

The kappa prince’s eyes were aglow in a ghastly green color.

 

“ _Hello Glossaryck,”_ The Queens gasped, hearing the Lizard’s voice out of the kappa.

 

“What?” The Fun.

 

“It can’t be, no,” The Chef.

 

“ _Hello...Toffee._ ”

 

_“Time to give it up, old man. You'll never get him on your side.”_

_“But I don’t have a side.”_

 

Static.

 

“No no no no no,” The Chef began to panick.

 

The Drafted quickly tried to calm her down.

 

Before anyone else could say something, the left began to glow, presenting what appeared to be the Princess Song of the Undaunted.

 

As the old songstrel was finished, the Queen applauded him.

 

“ _Ugghh! Mom! Worst. Song. Ever. Do I have to have one of those written about me?”_

A glitch.

 

“ _That song didn't say anything about the real you. You could plug any name into that song, and it wouldn't make a lick of difference. How about...Buttercup! Sparkle! Snowflake! They all happen to love puppies and smell like lavender? Wow.”_

_“I don't have time for this, Star. Preparations for your Song Day celebration are already underway, and the new official songstrel of Mewni is heading to Earth to write your song as we speak.”_

Another.

 

“ _Star, the people of Mewni like their Princess Songs light and fluffy. Can you handle that?”_

 

Then a transitional static. The Undaunted was getting dressed for something.

 

“ _Moon, please. If I can't talk you out of going, at least take a bunch of our knights with you!”_

_“I told you, River, this has to stay low-key, under the radar. Besides, I've been there before. It's perfectly safe.”_

 

An unnoticable glitch.

 

 _“I promise you, I can handle myself.”_ She kissed her husband. “ _Hold down the castle until I return.”_

 

Then another transitional static.

 

The Forest of Certain Death. The Undaunted got off her steed and walked to the rotting house in view. She knocked on the door.

 

“ _What is it?_ ” The door slot opened.

 

“ _Hello, Lord Brudo._ ” Some of the Queens gasped at realization.

 

“ _Huh? Queen Moon. Hmph. What do you want?”_

 

“ _I need to speak with you. It’s very important.”_

 

Another brief glitch.

 

“ _I'm here because your son took a very important book from my family._ ” The Undaunted was apparently facing the kappa prince’s mother.

 

“ _My son? Which one?_ ” She began to list them down, all of them riduculously suffixed with -udo.

 

“ _Not Dennis!_ ” Except for this one.

 

The kappa in question peeked from behind a chair.

 

“ _No, it’s...it’s Ludo._ ”

 

She gasped. “ _Ludo?! Well, w-we don't say that name in this house anymore! Not since he and his goons took over our castle and changed the locks when we were on vacation! N-Not that this place isn't lovely...”_

_“Do you know where he is now?”_

_“We don't. You know, he is a grave disappointment to us.”_

_“Well, what do you expect?!”_ Her husband interjected. “ _We had a lot of kids. Ludo was the runt. He didn't even fit in our family portrait. We were extra hard on him to toughen him up. And look what happened! Was he grateful? No! Instead, he destroyed our ancestral home and brought shame on the family name!”_

 

“ _There there,_ ” The Undaunted tried to comfort the two with an awkward but reassuring smile. “ _We can't always control the path our children choose to take_.”

 

Many of the Queens dwelled on the words as the transitional static was shown. The Monster Carver was most affected.

 

The Forest of Certain Death once more, outside the house, and the Queen was in her way back.

 

She noticed the person following her. _“I know you're there. Come on out if you know what's good for you.”_

The person revealed himself to be one of the Avarius princes.

 

“ _What do you want?_ ” The Undaunted asked.

 

 _“It’s me, Dennis_ ,” He greeted. “ _You were just at my house.”_

_“Why are you following me?”_

_“Are you looking for my big brother because you want to help him?”_

_“Help him what?”_

_“He’s not well.”_

 

The kappa offered the Undaunted knowledge of his brother’s whereabouts. She accepted and the kappa flew her to a mountaintop where his brother was seen.

 

“Now hold on,” The Monster Carver pointed out, “That’s the Monster Temple!”

 

“I was told that place was forbidden to step through,” The Riddled said. “Apparently it was for a long time.”

 

“I see,” The Monster Carver continued. “That was the home to the King of Monsters—those creatures would commune there.”

 

She stopped when the left screen transitioned into what appeared to be a stage.

 

“ _And now, Mewni's newest court composer, the songstrel Ruberiot...”_

 

“Looks like it’s the poor girl’s Song Day,” The Uncalculated remarked.

 

“... _in honor of the Royal Family, presents Star Butterfly's Princess Song!”_

The Royal Songstrel was seated on the stage, beginning his song once the marionette had been placed down.

 

The Queens listened eagerly, impressed at the quality of such a different song—until the other half played.

 

“She did not ask him to put all that there, right???” The Fun was suffering from second-hand embarrassment.

 

“Man, I wish I could’ve been that honest in my Princess Song,” The Heaped muttered to herself.

 

And they all cringed through the last part, convinced that the last part was a last minute addition by that clearly ambitious Songstrel.

 

A glitch of transition.

 

_“Mom! I-I didn't realize this would happen! I thought they wanted to know the real Star Butterfly!”_

_“They don't, Star. They just want to believe that you're a perfect little princess. And sometimes, the truth is dangerous.”_

_“With all due respect, Moon,”_ Hekapoo interrupted, the other Commission members behind her, “ _withholding information about Glossaryck and the spell book has put us all in danger!”_

 

A small glitch.

 

_“ I assure you, I had every intention of—!”_

_“Every intention of what?”_

_“I had everything under control!”_

_“How dare you hide something like that?!”_

_“I wasn’t trying to hide anything!”_

 

Static.

 

The Chef sighed loudly, her sorrow most pronounced.

 

“Your daughter will be fine,” Her mother tried to reassure her.

 

“I know,”

 

The two were nudged by the Riddled when it had appeared that the broken screen stopped working.


	7. Dip Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter was getting long--had to dedicate a chapter specific to the Battle for Mewni

Before The Drafted or The Chef could say anything the screen lit up—the entire screen.

 

The kappa prince appeared to be crystallized waist down, clearly drowsy.

 

_"Ugh... Who are you...? Please don't take my organs... Queen Moon? What are you doing here?"_

 

 _"Give me that!"_  The Undaunted immediately grabbed the wand from him.

 

_"Hey!"_

 

"I don't like where this is going," the Fun muttered out.

 

_"Where's Glossaryck?"_

 

_"Glossaryck? Um...he's gone."_

 

A clean glitch, with the right delaying by one second.

 

_"What do you mean he's gone? What did you do to him?!"_

 

_"I didn't do anything. Glossaryck showed me something in the spell book, and next thing I know, I wake up, and they're gone."_

 

_"Oh come on, you stole the book."_

 

_"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! Glossaryck said the book is mine now. How's that stealing? And I think we can all agree Glossaryck comes and goes as he pleases."_

 

Sounds of affirmation from the Magical High commission was heard in the background of the presentation.

 

_"And I suppose it's just a coincidence that you've taken up shelter here in this ancient monster temple,"_

 

 _"I'm supposed to know that?"_  A number of the Queens gasped at this.  _"This place was empty, so I moved in. It's cold out there! I'm wearing a chip bag, for corn's sake!"_

 

_"What about your wand? You have half my family's crystal embedded in it."_

 

_"It doesn't even work anymore. If it's yours, you can have it. Face it. You've got nothing on me."_

 

Another glitch, the left delaying this time.

 

"Not working?" The Queen of Hours questioned out loud.

 

_"—I saw your family, Ludo."_

 

_"My family?!"_

 

Another, no delays and unnoticeable.

 

_"--must've been difficult. But I do know that Dennis misses you. He says hello."_

 

The kappa looked sad.  _"How is he?"_

 

_"He's worried about his big brother, and so am I."_

 

_"Worried about me? Don't you get it? I lost my army, my kingdom, my clothes! And look – still standing!"_

 

_"Yes, but for how much longer? You don't look well, Ludo. Tell me what's going on, and maybe I can help you."_

 

Suddenly, the wand began to glow, and the Undaunted immediately dropped it, apparently burnt by it.

 

The humming of the wand rang all over, making the screen glitch visually.

 

_"What was that? What do you mean she's—"_

 

Static.

 

 _"Ludo?"_  The screen went on again, but only the right half.

 

The kappa looked dead, but his grip on the wand was tight.

 

The Chef began to panic, as some of the Queens had an inkling of the danger that was to come.

 

The kappa's head jolted up, eyes glowing green with a grim smile.

 

_"Ludo?"_

 

A blast to what must've been the Undaunted and static.

 

"No," The Chef got up and frantically paced about. "No no no!!!"

 

The Drafted, The Shy, The Fun, and The Uncalculated tended to her, her shriek of pain starting up the right screen again.

 

"Comet, please," Her mother begged.

 

"I did not just see that, I did not," Her head perked up to face the relatives around her, eyes clouded and cheeks glowing.

 

 _"Ludo?"_  Hekapoo asked from the screen, the Queens still watching literally on their toes.

 

 _"Ludo's not here right now,"_  As the Lizard rambled, The Undaunted's tapestry began to glow brightly, grabbing everyone's attention.

 

_"You did not wanna do that, little man!"_

 

A figure began phasing out of the tapestry, the Chef's cries growing louder.

 

All the Queens but the Shy and the Heaped ran towards the glowing tapestry.

 

"Not my Moonpie, not my Moonpie," The Chef, in tears, was in front of them all.

 

 _"You can't keep doing that Chancellor,"_ The Heaped returned her attention to the glitchy screen, catching that Lekmet was apparently healing everyone.

 

"This reunion will be short lived," The Shy said right behind her, making her jump.

 

"Please don't scare me like that ever again."

 

"...I apologize."

 

"Moo-hoo-oon," The Chef tried to embrace her daughter, materializing in her arms.

 

The Undaunted could only muster a confused "Mot-" until she disappeared in golden light.

 

The Chef covered her mouth as she continued to bawl.

 

Everyone else was confused until The Heaped called their attention, pointing back at the screen. The Undaunted was being revived, watching Lekmet die as she lived again.

 

Everyone but The Drafted and The Chef went back to where they sat on the floor to watch the screen.

 

"She's still fine," The Drafted tried to reassure her daughter.

 

She sniffed then looked at her mother as the glow of her cheekmarks faded.

 

The Chef sighed. "Let's keep watching."

 

 _"Hello, Moon. It's been a while."_  The Lizard greeted the Undaunted.

 

She gasped.  _"Toffee..."_

 

The fight went down, every colliding blow causing glitching to the screen.

 

The Lizard, in possession of the kappa's body, was holding his own in battle--with magic and knowledge to use it. A strange fear filled the room, bubbling anger into a number of the Queens.

 

After a bright blast from the Undaunted, the screen freaked out.

 

_" **Tell St-st-st-Star--I'm comi-mi-mi-ming for m-yyyyyyy--ger-ger-ger-geeerrr-finger."**_

 

A transitional static for the left screen; The Undaunted and The Underestimated were in a warnicorn-driven carriage, the balloonified members tied at the back.

 

And Lekmet next to the Undaunted, lifeless dust.

 

_"Can you check on the Commission?"_

 

Glitch.

 

_"Still in their stasis. Oh, looks like ol' Hekapoo is gonna be an auntie! So, how exactly are we going to de-balloonify them?"_

 

_"Once we're at the Sanctuary, the Well of Magic should be able to rejuvenate them."_

 

Glitch. The two seem stranded. Apparently they were about to set camp.

 

_"Toffee has Glossaryck, and your wand seems tainted by his magic as well. It's the same magic I saw when I fought Ludo. Now let's start a fire, and we'll head for the Sanctuary in the morning."_

 

Glitch. The Underestimated was rubbing two sticks together.

 

_"What are you doing?"_

 

 _"Staring a fire. Duh."_ The Queens were impressed at the sight. Usually they used magic or a glowing object as a light source. Never ever did any of them consider that rubbing two sticks together can start a fire.

 

_"Did your father teach you that?"_

 

_"No, Marco did. Marco taught me a lot, like how to mope, self-pity... Ya know, all the cool teen stuff. And now that's all I have."_

 

Glitch.

 

The Underestimated was watching her mother speak to the Sanctuary's Gatekeeper.

 

_"She's lost her marbles..."_

 

"You taught your daughter Gatorspeak?" The Monster Carver asked The Chef.

 

"No, I sent a tutor for her, as she requested. I never needed the Sanctuary during my life."

 

They went back to the screen as it glitched.

 

_"Look at all the Glossarycks,"_

 

_"Yes, Star. The queens of Mewni have been coming here for generations."_

 

The Undaunted then activated the pods, she and her daughter putting the Commission Members there.

 

A glitch.

 

_"Oh, I feel like that's not how it's supposed to look."_

 

_"It's worse than I feared,"_

 

Glitch again.

 

_"Wait, so we're just going to hide? That's your plan B? That's a terrible plan B!"_

 

_"Your safety is my priority right now."_

 

_"Uh, I didn't blow up my whole life just so you could give up! Come on, we could track those rats back to Toffee and end this whole thing!"_

 

_"Even if the Magical High Commission was okay, we still wouldn't be strong enough to defeat Toffee. Our best bet is to lay low until the situation changes."_

 

The Underestimated was vexed, pacing away from her mother.  _"You lied to me."_

 

_"Star, what are you doing?"_

 

_"What else have you lied about, Mom? I bet Lekmet isn't even meeting us here!"_

 

_"Lekmet is dead, Star. And it could happen to us too. Toffee won't stop until he finds this!"_

 

Out in the Undaunted's hand was the Lizard's finger. The visual began to glitch out.

 

_"Did you take that--that's the thing--from my--that doesn't belong--closet? And you're just carrying it around?"_

 

_"It's too dangerous to do anything but stay."_

 

 _"No! I am not hiding here until I am old and gray like you! This,"_  She held up the cleaved wand, glowing green, " _has to mean something!"_

 

_"No, Star! The wands are linked! He'll find us!"_

 

 _"Oh, like he won't find us with you carrying his finger around! I defeated him once! I can do it again!"_  She raised the wand,  _"Fantastic Exit Beam!"_

 

_"Star, stop!"_

 

She paused. _"Why?! What happened to cool warrior queen Mom?!"_

 

 _"I was never a cool warrior queen, Star!"_  The Undaunted ceased her tense motions, tearing up.  _"I was a happy-go-lucky girl like you. And then Toffee and his monsters killed my mother."_

 

The Queens were shaken as the screen glitched. The Chef winced.

 

_"Tell me."_

 

_"I was about your age when it happened. I didn't know what to do, so **I spoke to Eclipsa**."_

 

"What?!" Everyone reacted.

 

"E-Eclipsa?" The Monster Carver cracked out.

 

 _"Eclipsa Eclipsa? But she's been dead for hundreds of years!"_  The tapestries of the Queen of Darkness and the Undaunted began to glow.

 

_"No. Eclipsa's alive. And I made a deal with her."_

 

Black.

 

"I was right," said the Riddled.

 

"I don't understand, " The Monster Carver was at a loss for words.

 

"A-alive?" The Fun was beginning to question everything.

 

"Made a...deal?" The Chef stared at the glowing tapestry of her daughter, piecing together the implications of the words "the darkest spell".

 

"No!" The Uncalculated was frenzied, livid in tone. "I refuse to believe this!"

 

He began to laugh deliriously. "It's not like the Magical High Commission just outright lied to me--no! T-to all of us, right?"

 

Just as he said that, the sounds of a thunderstorm accompanied by the elegance of a harp and violin played in harmony. The yellow-green became a blue-violet, as the symbols of the floor glitched out. Blue diamond on the left half and violet spade on the right half.

 

The entire screen lit up, erasing the obvious cleave.

 

The throne room, empty and dark.

 

 _"What exactly do you wanna talk about that requires me only, your Majesty?"_  Rhombulus asked the Undaunted, appearing almost as young as the Underestimated.

 

_"Well, I have been covering up for you lately, but now it is my turn to ask you a favor. Do you promise to keep it a secret, even to the rest of the High Commission?"_

 

 _"Scout's honor, my Queen."_  He saluted.

 

 _"Good."_  She took a breath.  _"I have a plan to stop the Lizard's army, but I need further knowledge about a spell that I can use to stop them. Um, erm...Glossaryck told me--can you take me to Eclipsa?"_

 

 _"What?!_ " Rhombulus jumped.  _"How'd you--"_ He slammed his snake hands into his hard face.

 

 _"Fiiiine,"_  He groaned out.  _"Of course Glossaryck would--"_

 

A glitch.

 

The sight of the Queen of Darkness, indeed it was her, in the crystal surprised everyone, a chill down their collective spines.

 

"She was crystallized?!" The Monster Carver raised her voice.

 

_"Eclipsa's been crystallized for hundreds of years. I've got no idea what's gonna happen when we open this up."_

 

_"I can handle it."_

 

Rhombulus then decrystalized the Queen of Darkness's upper body. The Queens watching were bracing themselves, a great tenseness filling the room.

 

 _"Hoo! Okay, I'm out. Uh, call if you need me!"_ He then told the Undaunted as he ran away.

 

The Undaunted pointed her wand towards the Queen of Darkness, readying herself for any trouble.

 

The Queen of Darkness began gasping for air, then collapsing suddenly.

 

_"Oh my gosh, I killed her!"_

 

_"B...4..."_

 

_"...what?"_

 

_"B4..."_

 

_"'Before?' B-Before what?"_

 

The Queen of Darkness's head tilted to the left a bit, her eyes pointing at something.

 

The Undaunted then caught the Queen of Darkness eyeing the nearby vending machine.

 

"Typical," The Uncalculated muttered out somberly in his quiet breath.

 

_"You want the candy?"_

 

_"B4! B4! B4! B4!"_

 

The Undaunted then bought whatever B4 was and gave it to the Queen of Darkness, aggressively eating it. The Queen of Darkness then proceeded to pull her hand out of the crystal.

 

The Queens winced and made sounds of disgust at the sight of her darkened hand, which immediately yoinked the chocolate bar, downing it.

 

She swallowed.  _"How long have I been here?"_

 

_"Uh, like, three-hundred years?"_

 

She choked.  _"Three-hundred???"_  She paused briefly then finished the chocolate bar.

 

The words "three-hundred" hit the Queens' in the face.

 

 _"So, you're the new Queen?"_  The Queen of Darkness asked.

 

_"Well, yes. What of it?"_

 

_"It's just, you're far too young to be queen, unless... Oh, no! Unless your mother – is she...?"_

 

The Undaunted sighed sorrowfully, nodding as her eyes began to cloud.

 

_"I see. I lost my mother too, when I was not much older than you."_

 

Instinctively, the Monster Carver and the Chef eyed each other.

 

_"Ever since Mom... Um, since I became queen, everybody's been looking to me to end the war and make all these big decisions, but I'm just a kid! I can't decide the fate of Mewni! I can't even decide which boy I like!"_

 

_"I know how you feel."_

 

_"But that's not why I'm here. I need you to teach me one of the spells from your... forbidden chapter."_

 

A number of the Queens gasped.

 

The Queen of Darkness was mildly offended. _"'Forbidden?' Is that what they're calling my chapter?"_

 

 _"Yeah sorry. I didn't name it."_ The Undaunted took a breath.  _"But the point is I need a spell that can destroy something that's immortal."_

 

The Queen of Darkness looked surprised. Raising a pensive finger to her chin,  _"Are you sure that's what you want?"_

 

_"It's my only hope."_

 

The Queen of Darkness hummed, taping her free dark fingers on the hard crystal.

 

_"Well, the spell you seek requires a magical contract. I can give it to you. But once your enemy is killed, you must give me something in return."_

 

_"Alright, what is it that you want?"_

 

The Queen of Darkness paused.  _"...my freedom."_

 

 ** _"What?!"_**  Most of the Queens reacted with the Undaunted.

 

 _"Oh, I know it's a lot to ask, but I've just been here so long, all by myself. I want to buy my own chocolate, or those little shrink-wrapped muffins at the bottom."_  She made a sound of delight at the thought of such sugary confections.

 

_"But these are Rhombulus's crystals. I can't free you."_

 

 _"A contract between Queens is stronger than any crystal,"_  The spades began to glow as the Queen of Darkness reached out her hand.  _"Now, do you want to learn the spell?"_

 

The Undaunted briefly stared at the open hand, nodded and clasped her own with it. Her cheeks began to glow instantly, feeling a surge of foreign energy go through her veins.

 

The Queens panicked, seeing the darkness spread into the Undaunted's hands.

 

The glow of their cheeks faded.

 

 _"Come close,"_ The Undaunted obeyed.  _"Now, the incantation is in my chapter. I advise you to use this spell only once, as the effects of dark magic will overcome you over frequent use. Importantly, try not to get too emotional when you cast, and aim it directly at his heart--"_

 

Static.

 

The spade on the floor glitched into a diamond, the blue-violet of the room becoming a blue-white.

 

The tapestry of the Queen of Darkness darkened as the Undaunted's tapestry brightened.

 

The screen presented the Undaunted, riding her pig-goat, approaching the Lizard's army. She stopped right in front of them, pulled out a picnic basket, laid out a cloth, cutlery, a chalice, and upon a platter, Johansen-made apology meat.

 

She proceeded to have her meal while the monsters stared at her in confusion.

 

_"Uh, can we help you?"_

 

_"I wish to speak with the General,"_

 

 _"The General?"_  The monsters laughed at her, to them some weak little girl.

 

_"Silence!"_

 

The monsters gave way in obedience as the Lizard walked out to face the Undaunted, greeting her.

 

_"Hello, Princess."_

 

_"I presume you're the one they call 'The Lizard,'"_

 

_"Yes, but you may call me Toffee,"_

 

_"'Toffee?' How is that any better?"_

 

Mildly offended and annoyed,  _"what do you want?"_

 

_"I want you and your army to leave immediately, or face the consequences."_

 

 _"Your Mom couldn't defeat us and neither can you!"_  Insulted one of the monsters, causing the Queens to react violently.

 

 _"I was hoping you would say that,"_ she instantly stood from her meal and aimed her wand in front of the Lizard.

 

_"We're not afraid of your little 'girl magic'!"_

 

_"We're invincible! Just watch!"_

 

Two of the monster soldiers gave the Undaunted a demonstration of their regenerative ability, which the Undaunted winced at, fully aware of the fact. The other soldiers cheered the two.

 

The Undaunted hesitated briefly, but immediately struck down her fears, concentrating.

 

 _"I call the darkness unto me,"_  The wand began to glow blue.

 

 _"From deepest depths of earth and sea,"_  Her diamonds began to glow.

 

The Queens were all tense, the Chef most terrified.

 

 _"From ancient evils unawoken, break the one that can't be broken,"_  The skies began to darken, the wand sparking with a new energy.

 

 _"To blackest night, I pledge my soul,"_  The wand turned black,  _"and crush my heart to burning coal,"_

 

The darkness on her hands began to emit wisps of blue-violet energy.  _"To summon forth a deadly power--to see my hated foe devoured."_

 

She gasped at her hands just as she finished reciting.

 

 _"Enough of this,"_  The Lizard said, immediately going for the wand.

 

The Undaunted quickly reacted and angled herself, slicing off the Lizard's finger and knocking him to the ground.

 

The finger was obliterated.

 

Sitting up,  _"Have you learned nothing?"_  He then raised his hand to show it regrow the finger.

 

But it did not grow back. In fact, a mark of darkness was upon that tiny nub where his finger used to be.

 

_"It's not growing back!!!"_

 

The army dispersed, immediately deserting their General.

 

The Lizard gave her a silent anger, getting up and dusting himself. He walked away.

 

The screen turned static.

 

The blue-white returned to yellow-green, restoring the yellow heart and the green club onto the floor.

 

The cleave returned, and the right half lit up again.

 

_"So, what's that thing you said about me not being the owner of the book anymore? Hmm?"_

 

The Queens deep down knew the reason.

 

_"Yes. Well, that's, um... That's the thing."_

 

_"What's the thing?"_

 

_"The book thing. You don't... You don't own it anymore. That's it."_

 

_"But that doesn't make any sense! I took it! It's right there! How can it not be mine?"_

 

_"I don't know--"_

 

Glitch. Glossaryck was laughing at the kappa.

 

 _"Why are you laughing?"_  The Queens were confused too, having been stripped of some proper context.

 

 _"I'm sorry. It's, it's... It's a book. You cannot talk to the... to the book!"_  Glossaryck guffawed.

 

Another glitch.

 

The kappa prince was angered, feeling a feeling so familiar to him.

 

_"Oh, yes. Funny. Yes, I suppose it is. Funny that I ever believed you would take me seriously! Funny that ugly little Ludo wants to be a mighty magical superstar! What a joke, right?!"_

 

He laughed self-deprecatingly,  _"Joke's on me! Star was always your favorite, wasn't she? The cute little hearts on the cheeks. I'm just a sad little dingus in a chip bag--who you never believed in! Well, if you don't want me in your book, then I don't want me in it, either!_

 

The screen began to glitch as the kappa immediately took the Book of Spells and threw it into a fire.

 

Many of the Queens screamed and reacted violently.

 

The Queen of Hours let out a violent yell, as the screen projected green flames, sending everyone into a state of surprised fear.

 

Standing up, cheeks aglow and a roaring voice, "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"

 

"Mother please,"

 

The flames on the screen raged in various pink and purple colors as the Queen of Hours levitated in rage. Her hands were flaming in sunset light.

 

_"Well, Toffee, looks like you finally got him to do what you wanted."_

 

Everyone panicked as the Queen of Hours aimed at the screen.

 

_"I didn't want this; that was all Ludo,"_

 

The Queen of Hours began to shriek as her fire was about to launch.

 

"Someone stop her!" Out called the Uncalculated, knowing fully well how Butterflies can easily be swayed by rage.

 

"Before she destroys this dimension too!" Added the Monster Carver.

 

Everyone immediately tried to fire whatever magic they could to restrain the Queen of Hours. It worked, but her fury was still aflame, as she struggled to get free from a rope of magic she was bound in.

 

She'll burn off eventually.

 

_"Hmm. You know, even though I knew this was coming, it's, uh... it's still kind of a surprise."_

 

The flames of the screen transitioned into a new one—the Undaunted and the Underestimated by the doors of a house.

 

_"Are you sure this is the place, Star?"_

 

 _"I said to trust me,"_ Responded the Underestimated. She then knocked on the door.

 

Apparently this was the frogman's house, and the Undaunted gasped at the sight.

 

_"Buff Frog!"_

 

 _"Star Butterfly!"_  The two embraced each other warmly, some of the Queens wondering how the Underestimated could handle the gesture from such a monster.

 

_"Oh my little sweet potato, it has been too long!"_

 

The Undaunted cleared her throat, making her presence known to the frogman.

 

The two let go and the frogman quickly adjusted himself.  _"Oh, Queen Moon! Greetings!"_

 

_"Mom, this is Yvgeny Bulgoyubov,"_

 

_"Ah no no please, call me Buff Frog."_

 

_"He used to work for Ludo, but he's cool now."_

 

_"What?!"_

 

 _"Hey Buff Frog,"_  The Underestimated was ignorant of her mother's reaction,  _"can we crash here with you for a night?"_

 

_"Of course! I owe you for all that tadpole-sitting."_

 

 _"Star, may I speak with you for a minute,"_ The Undaunted then brushed her daughter and herself to the side.

 

_"We cannot stay with him. He's a monster!"_

 

_"Mom, get with the times! Not all monsters are bad."_

 

A static glitch.

 

The Underestimated was being mauled by a bunch of tadpoles. A few Queens recoiled while another few gushed over the tadpoles.

 

_"Babies, say hello to Queen Butterfly!"_

 

 _"That really isn't—"_  The tadpoles then began to smother her instead.

 

The frogman then confronted the Underestimated.

 

_"Star, I have been so worried about you."_

 

_"Why? I'm good,"_

 

 _"Well, when Ludo took your castle, I thought, you know..."_  He then made a gesture around his neck.

 

The Queens gasped, realizing that the kappa—no, the Lizard, had accelerated quickly.

 

_"Wait, Toffee has our castle?!"_

 

_"Toffee is dead. Ludo in castle,"_

 

_"Ugh! Toffee not dead—Toffee inside Ludo!"_

 

 _"Oh!"_ The frogman tried to process the information,  _"that is so creepy."_

 

The Underestimated then gasped in realization.  _"Papa! Dad's still in the castle! We have to go save him!"_

 

The Undaunted breathed. " _No."_

 

_"He is your husband!"_

 

_"Star, I've made my decision. We will stay here."_

 

Glitch. The Undaunted was gone.

 

_"Sorry about that. My mom's got...monster problems,"_

 

_"Yes, I am getting certain...vibe from her."_

 

_"Yeah, we all are. But we're here for a favor."_

 

_"Of course! Anything for you."_

 

_"I need you to hang out with my mom. I need you to keep her busy while I go find Toffee."_

 

_"Star, Toffee is very dangerous. Do you have plan?"_

 

_"I have plan."_

 

Glitch. The Undaunted has returned.

 

_"—So what do you monsters do for entertainment?"_

 

An unnoticeable glitch.

 

_"We can play board game!"_

 

 _"Great idea, Buff Frog!"_ The Underestimated pretended. " _And I will hang out with the babies in their room."_

 

She then left.

 

" _Your daughter is...very strange_ ," the frogman remarked, walking towards a shelf.

 

_"...thank you."_

 

 _"We have many options for board game!"_ Glitch. " _Oh my favorite: Puddle Defender!"_

 

"That sounds oddly like Castle Defender," The Riddled remarked.

 

"It's obviously a monster rip-off of the more superior Castle Defender," concluded the Eager.

 

Glitch. The Undaunted and the frogman were playing the board game.

 

_"Uh, rules are simple. The evil bloodthirsty Mewman – that's you – must try and sneak past watchful monster parent – that's me – break into daycare, explode helpless monster babies, and turn them into stew for eating."_

 

 _"That is horrible!"_ The Undaunted gasped. Many of the Queens gasped too, many of them realizing the nature of the board game.

 

_"Hey, here is dice! You roll first."_

 

The Undaunted rolled the dice and got a 7. She then took a card.

 

_"'You are filthy Mewman. Use teeth-sharpening spell for better eating of monster baby.' Really?"_

 

A static glitch.

 

_"Hm. This game seems a tad biased."_

 

 _"Really? I hadn't noticed,"_  He then landed on a good spot. " _Yay! I get more corn_!"

 

A noise from what was obviously the Underestimated was heard, and the Undaunted looked to find nothing.

 

_"Did you hear something?"_

 

_"I hear nothing."_

 

 _"You know,"_  The Undaunted rolled the dice, _"it's monsters that eat Mewman babies,"_

 

 _"Oh really?"_ The frogman then did his turn,  _"Can you name a time when a monster has ever done such a thing?"_

 

The two began to play aggressively.

 

_"Well no, but when I was a child, we played a game called 'Castle Defender' about Mewmans protecting our babies from ravenous monsters. That idea had to come from somewhere."_

 

_"Because it came from a children's board game?"_

 

_"I just think that monsters would have less of a reputation if they didn't act so bloodthirsty all the time."_

 

_"Monsters only act that way to protect their babies from Mewmans. You may not understand, but monsters will do anything for our children."_

 

 _"Don't talk to me about what I'm willing to do!"_  The Undaunted paused, standing up.  _"Why do you think I'm here in this swamp? To protect Star from Toffee! Don't you think I'm worried to death about my husband? But I have to keep my child safe at all costs! Something you probably wouldn't understand, because YOU'RE A MONSTER!"_

 

The frogman flipped the game board.  _"You insult me, Queen Moon! My buffbabies, they are my life. And that is why... Star Butterfly!"_

 

The Underestimated was caught exiting the door.

 

_"I will not help you escape!"_

 

_"Star!"_

 

_"Buff Frog!"_

 

The frogman addressed the Undaunted.  _"Star will be safe here."_

 

He then pulled a lever which immediately locked the door and all possible entrances.

 

_"Keeps babies in and dangers out."_

 

_"I should've realized—you're a parent too."_

 

A glitch. The Underestimated was pacing in a room, surrounded by the tadpoles.

 

_"Scared ol' mama. Two-timing Buff Frog. What's their plan, huh? Just avoid your problems to death? Great plan. It's a terrible plan. I've got plans. I've got big plans. But no, they stuck me in here."_

 

 _"We can help you,"_  A number of the Queens jumped at the response.

 

" _Not now, I'm thinking._ " Realizing what had just happened, " _wait, who said that?"_

 

 _"It was me, Katrina!_ " Replied the bright-eyes tadpole with no arms.

 

The Underestimated gasped. " _You guys can talk?"_

 

 _"Just me so far,"_ said the bright-eyed tadpole.  _"I haven't told my dad yet...There's something else I haven't told him."_

 

The other tadpoles revealed a secret escape hole.

 

Static. The right screen lit up. The kappa had the Undaunted's escort in a compromising position for all the citizens to see. The Queens were horrified.

 

 _"Welcome to the reign of King Ludo! This is what happens to anyone who doesn't show respect and adoration for their king!"_  He faced the Johansen.  _"Any last words?"_

 

He glared at him as he raised his voice,  _"People of Mewni, I am not afraid!"_

 

Before he could finish, the kappa blasted the poor man into the sky.

 

The violent shrieks of terror among the Mewmans sent chills among the Queens as the screen went static.

 

 _"Where's Star?!"_  The frogman woke up to the angry face of the Undaunted.

 

 _"Gah!"_  He quickly pushed her away from him.  _"She is supposed to be in bedroom!"_

 

_"Well, she's not there."_

 

Glitch. Right screen on. Butterfly Castle. The Underestimated in web. The kappa prince's hand was glowing.

 

_"Okay, so my hand says I can't destroy you, so I have to put you in the dungeon."_

 

_"For that last time, where is my dad?!"_

 

_"Didn't you hear the song? Oh! I defeated him. I Levitato'd him. And now I'm king."_

 

_"You what-ti-ta-ta-ta-toed him?"_

 

 _"Levitato."_ Glitch.  _"You're Princess of Mewni and you don't even know Levitato?"_

 

_"You don't know, do you? You're being controlled, Ludo!"_

 

 _"You're right, I am being controlled,"_ He stared at his hand.  _"Controlled by my lust for power!!!"_

 

_"No, Ludo. You're being controlled by Toffee!"_

 

 _"What? No, Toffee's dead! I did this. Me. See that?"_ He pointed at his hardwork,  _"Me! Me! And now I'm doing this, too. Take her to the dungeon!"_

 

The bird then took the Underestimated.

 

_"IT'S YOUR WAAAANNN—"_

 

Static glitch.

 

The Underestimated and the kappa prince were now on the balcony.

 

_"All right, Ludo. What are you gonna do now? Levitato me again? Oh, I'm so scared! That was the worst."_

 

 _"Actually, you said something earlier about my, um... about my..."_  He cleared his throat, putting his wand hand behind his back.

 

_"About my W-O-N-D."_

 

"Wond???" Questioned the Riddled. The Fun snickered briefly.

 

_"Oh, so now you want my help?!"_

 

 _"Of course I want help! I've been talking to my own hand! It keeps me up all night! I can't sleep, I can't think! I can't focus on my new job as Mewni's beloved monarch!"_  He panicked out. Just as he said this, the wand began to glow and hum.

 

_"Wha–? Oh, hello. Yes, of course. I... no... what? Of course I'm beloved! Didn't you hear the song?"_

 

 _"LUDO!"_ The Underestimated was tired of the kappa's obliviousness.  _"Why do you think I came here without a wand?!"_

 

_"Because you were surrendering???"_

 

_"It's corrupted! BY TOFFEE. He's in the wands, Ludo!"_

 

The kappa paused in his motions, reflecting as he stared at the crystal in his hand.

 

 _"In the...in the wands..._ **_GET HIM OUT!!!_ ** _I don't want to be corrupted! I don't want to be corrupted!!! How did he even get in there? How did he even get in there?!"_

 

 _"I don't know how he got in there. The last time I saw him, he..."_  The Underestimated made a sound of realization.

 

The kappa was still disgusted at the idea of the Lizard controlling him...again, waving his wand arm willy-nilly.

 

The Underestimated took his wand arm and tried to calm him down.

 

Sighing,  _"Ludo, please. I know how to get Toffee out."_

 

_"And then I can go back to being a beloved monarch?"_

 

 _"Uh..."_ The Underestimated wasn't sure of that. _"Probably not...but you'll be free from Toffee's control!"_

 

The kappa sighed sadly. _"Just go ahead and do it already!"_

 

The Underestimated began to recite the Whispering Spell. None of the Queens had broken wands before, and were confused as to what the Underestimated was doing.

 

"...is she cleaving it again?!" Questioned the Eager.

 

"I'm not sure how that's gonna get Toffee out," said the Fun.

 

"That Ludo has a point though," spoke the Riddled. "how did Toffee enter the wand in the first place?"

 

"...it must've been something to do during that time Star stormed Castle Avarius," speculated the Queen of Hours, now calm. "Everyone knows to keep away from the wand after using the Whispering Spell, right?"

 

They all nodded.

 

"Right," she went on, the Monster Carver unbinding the rope. "That monster knew about the spell, so it is likely he knows what happens after."

 

"We know an explosion happens," stated the Uncalculated.

 

"But what else?"

 

Before she could continue, an explosion was heard, and both halves were projecting.

 

The Queens gasped as the balcony was now a pile of rubble.

 

_"No, no, no! Buff Frog, we have to go now!"_

 

The frogman immediately carried the Undaunted, and apparently the boy who was now with them. Some of the Queens wondered about this.

 

The Undaunted dug through the rubble and found the kappa prince.

 

 _"Ludo! Where's Star?"_  She asked desperately, shaking him.

 

 _"Where am I?"_  The Queens gasped, hearing the Underestimated's voice from the kappa.

 

"What?!" Reacted the Chef.

 

The Riddled snapped her fingers. "That's our answer!"

 

_"Where is my daughter?!"_

 

The kappa's eyes were a glowing yellow.  _"Mom! Mom, mom! I'm in here!"_

 

_"Star?! Is that you?"_

 

_"Yes, it's me!"_

 

 _"Oh, thank goodness!"_ The Queens recoiled slightly as the Undaunted proceeded hug and kiss the kappa, even while knowing it was her daughter inside of him.

 

A glitch, the left delaying a bit.

 

_"I'm going to stop Toffee, wherever I am,"_

 

_"Star, be careful! Just stay where you are!"_

 

 _"Can you repeat..."_  The kappa's eyes shut close.

 

 _"Star, are you still there?"_  She shook the kappa. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, green this time.

 

 _"Hello Moon,"_  Everyone shrieked, even the people in the screen.

 

 _"Toffee, give us back Star!"_  The Undaunted demanded.

 

 _"Oh, of course. But I'd like something from you first. Something that belongs to me."_ He then raised out the wand arm, which had a stump where the middle finger should be.

 

"No, don't do it!" Cried out some of the Queens watching.

 

"Goodness knows what he's gonna do with that finger!"

 

"It's a trap!"

 

"Oh Moonpie," The Chef could only muster out so much, pained to see her daughter in such a devastating situation.

 

The Undaunted pulled out the finger.  _"Take it."_

 

The Lizard chuckled.  _"Poor little Butterfly, you've lost your wings."_

 

The Undaunted could only glare at the taunt.

 

 _"Do we have a deal, your Majesty?"_  He grinned.

 

The Undaunted took a breath as she handed the finger to him. The Queens shuddered in terror, as the magic of the deal allowed the Lizard to reform.

 

He suddenly belched as he threw up the kappa from his body. The Queens made sounds of disgust.

 

 _"Where's Star?!"_  The Undaunted demanded, her cheeks aglow.

 

The Lizard couldn't believe he was alive, tapping around his body and magically-made suit. He stared at his middle finger.

 

_"Answer me, you fiend!"_

 

His shock slipped into aloofness instantly, his gaze jerked towards the Undaunted.

 

He ogled at her vulnerability with a smile, his hand raising the other half of the crystal.

 

Its green glow faded into a dead, ashen black.

 

The Lizard let the Undaunted and her companions look at the crystal until he crushed it to startle them.

 

None of the Queens breathed.

 

_"She's gone."_

 

A long static. The Queens were reeling from what they had seen, and a number of them were in tears.

 

The silence was broken when the Chef choked out a loud sob, feeling like a failure.

 

The Shy wanted to weep with her and the others, until she felt a pain in her cheeks.

 

The Riddled immediately and quietly asked if she was alright.

 

The Shy immediately got up instead of responding, confused at the pain.

 

"Celena, please tell me what's wrong."

 

She turned to face them with a face of perplexity, her dead eyes aglow and her cheeks glitching from glowing crescents to glowing hearts.

 

Everyone gasped.

 

"I don't know..." She mouthed out without sound, getting down on her knees as she touched her cheeks again. When she let go of them, her hands were dripping with glowing golden liquid. This startled her.

 

"What's going on?!" Wondered out loud the Monster Carver.

 

The Shy's crescents stilled themselves as the golden goup in her hands manifested into a playing card--a heart.

 

"What does it say, dear?" Egged on her mother.

 

The Shy shook the card, and it faded back into The Master of the Book. She showed it to her mother, then to everyone else.

 

When she looked at it again, the words were gone and were replaced with Low Mewnian text.

 

When translated:  ** _Love is always the answer._**

 

"Star is the heart," she stated, "and the catalyst of the Queens. She is unorthodox and unapologetic—the weaver of destiny and the fate of magic. Her methods are precarious but have great importance. Is it then right for us to question her significance?"

 

The card then dissolved back into golden liquid. When she tried to let it linger in her fingers, it sizzled into sparkles, her hair bouncing up briefly.

 

Briefly did everyone get a glimpse of those curled and well-shined horns, adorned with igneous pearls and forest flowers.

 

Before anyone could say anything, the music box and synth harmonies returned. As this happened, the room shook and repaired the cleave—the floor had a full golden heart, in fact the edges of the screen were glowing yellow.

 

The screen projected the wand repairing itself and taking an improved form— the crown turned into horns, the wings more butterfly-like, the charger changed shape and the crystal became whole once more.

 

It kept glowing and glowing, out of it came the Underestimated, having unlocked her Ultimate Form.

 

The Undaunted, the boy, and the frogman looked in awe. The Queens were astounded. No one could be happier, as the Underestimated literally seemed to have just defied death.

 

 _"Star!"_  The Undaunted cried out in tears of joy.

 

 _"HI MOM!"_  Replied the Underestimated.

 

_"Hello sweetie! You look lovely,"_

 

With a face of determination, " _WHERE'S TOFFEE?"_

 

She pointed towards the Lizard, just calmly walking away.

 

The Underestimated immediately grabbed her floating and brand new wand, aimed directly at the Lizard and fired.

 

The Queens watch in awe as the Underestimated obliterated the Lizard, reduced to blood and bones. Her form collapsed directly after, and she was caught just in time by the frogman.

 

The Undaunted and the boy ran towards her and embraced her, the Queens watching cheering at the sight.

 

Their joy was suddenly interrupted by a maniacal laughter. The Queens gasped in horror when they saw the dying corpse of the Lizard crawling.

 

 ** _"You think you've won? Ha!"_**  He taunted.

 

 ** _"You don't make the plans, I do!"_**  He laughed some more.

 

**_"Only I know how this all turns out—"_ **

 

Everyone was startled by the pillar that silenced the villain.

 

A cough.  _"And it turns out you're dead!"_

The kappa prince was fine somehow, and he apparently avenged himself by finishing the job. He then begged for validation which went unanswered.

 

 _"Do you think he's really gone?"_ The boy asked out loud, looking at the pillar.

 

 _"Looks pretty gone to me,"_ Responded the frogman.

 

The Undaunted was at the back of the scene, and the Riddled immediately noticed the darkness grow out from beyond the Queen's gloves. Her gasping reaction to this brought the particular sight to the Queens' attention.

 

When the Undaunted left, the glowing yellow turned into violet, the floor projecting a purple spade.


	8. Her One Decision On The Throne

The screen transitioned into a new one—the Queens were shocked to see that Glossaryck was alright. All of his crevices were still leaking yellow goop, and was running from the Underestimated...like a dog.

_"Come back here, Glossaryck!"_  The girl yelled, catching that blue fellow just jump out the window.

The Monster Carver was unnerved, somehow the only one wondering why Glossaryck kept saying the name of that monster—the King of Darkness.

When the Underestimated reached the rose garden, everyone was alarmed at the sight of the stranger standing there, picking up Glossaryck.

_"Whoa, Glossaryck! Heh, oh my goodness, I am so sorry about your roses. He'd... oh!"_

_"Oh don't worry."_ It was the Queen of Darkness, her hair adorned with rose petals. The Queens took a while to realize that she was free.

_"They're just flowers. It's not like they're something really cool, like a squirrelicorn—isn't that right?"_ She then began to coddle Glossaryck, who responded well to it.

_"How did you do that, and teach it to me now!"_  The Underestimated begged in amazement.

_"He just looked like he needed a little head scratch,"_  She replied calmly.

The Queen of Darkness then put Glossaryck down, taking a candy bar from her pocket, biting into it.

_"You know,"_ She swallowed _, "once in a while, you've got to slow down and appreciate the feeling of a nice head scratch, or the smell of a freshly bloomed rose, or the taste of a delicious candy bar."_

She quickly finished the bar and tossed the wrapper on a pile of wrappers off-screen. The loud sound told the Queens she had been eating a lot of those candy bars.

Giggling,  _"Sorry about that—I might have some self-control issues."_

The two laughed at the admission. Many of the Queens were scared, mostly for the Underestimated.

_"Yeah, same."_ The Underestimated calmed down.  _"You seem so familiar. We've met before, right?"_

The Queen of Darkness looked closely at the Underestimated, having no recognition of the princess. _"Maybe. I used to visit this garden a lot. Oh! Oh! Have you been to the Rose Tower?"_ She pointed at it.  _"The view from up there is simply divine!"_

_"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That's been condemned for forever."_

The Queen of Darkness crossed her arms, a smirk on her features.  _"Well, don't let that stop you."_

The Underestimated clearly liked the Queen of Darkness.  _"You know what? I wanna invite you into the castle for dinner tonight—is that cool?"_

The Queens seemed unnerved by the trusting nature of the Underestimated.

_"Oh, definitely! Although, I'm afraid I can't come. I might have other plans for the evening."_

_"Let me guess...a hot date?"_

The Queen of Darkness smiled at her, amused at the girl. " _Something like that._ "

Suddenly, the Magical High Commission barged into the gardens. Omnitraxus Prime immediately restrained the Queen of Darkness while the Undaunted rushed to her daughter.

The Monster Carver wasn't sure what to feel about what she was seeing, but she knew that she did not like it at all.

_"Star, are you okay? Did she hurt you?"_

_"What? No! No one hurt me. I was just talking to that nice lady."_

_"Nice lady?! Star, that's Eclipsa!"_ The Undaunted pointed at her.

_"Long time no speak, Moon,"_ Calmly greeted the Queen of Darkness.  _"How'd that spell work out for you?"_

_"Not another word out of you!"_ The Undaunted shouted.

The Underestimated wasn't sure of what to make of the situation. " _That's Eclipsa?!"_

A transitional static. The High Commission was checking on the Underestimated.

The Undaunted entered. " _Is she alright?_ "

The Underestimated was irritated _. "I am fine! I talked to Eclipsa for, like, two seconds, and she was really nice. No big deal."_

_"It could be a very big deal, Star."_

_"Okay, fine. But why?"_

_"Star, she betrayed her kingdom. She abandoned her people so she could run off with a monster."_

The Monster Carver's heart sank, hearing the Undaunted's contempt for her daughter. All the Queens after her seemed to speak of her with fear or hatred—never had she ever wanted so much as to see her daughter again.

Her brother seemed to be in a constant state of confusion concerning her little girl—what did she miss?

_"Mm-hmm, yes, right. I knew that. Kinda selfish. Okay, then what? She blew everything up?"_

_"No. They crystallized her before she had the chance."_

The Underestimated looked alarmed.  _"You crystallized her for being in love?!"_

_"With a monster! And that's not all. She didn't respect the natural order. She meddled in the dark arts, and created her own chapter of dangerous evil magic."_

The Underestimated blew a raspberry,  _"'Dangerous evil magic—' Have you even read her chapter?!"_

_"Of course not! It's forbidden for a reason."_

_"Well maybe if you read it like I have, you would know it's not that big of a deal!"_

The Undaunted could not believe her daughter's responses.  _"You can chime in anytime—you all knew her too."_

_"Uh, I mean, I saw her double-dipping in the ranch at the royal ball once."_ Hekapoo chimed in.

_"She told me she thought Rhombulus was annoying,"_  Omnitraxus contributed.

_"Can you believe that?!"_  Rhombulus asked, offended.

_"Yes."_  The Underestimated said, unamused.

_"Oh, yeah. She totally used to eat babies!"_

The Queens made sounds of confusion.

_"Nope, nope, that wasn't Eclipsa,"_  Hekapoo corrected Rhombulus.  _"That was Bobipsa, the barbarian baby eater?"_

_"Are you calling me a liar?"_

_"I'm pretty sure Eclipsa was a pescatarian,"_  Omnitraxus stated. The Uncalculated and the Monster Carver affirmed this with an unnoticed nod.

_"Okay, guys, as fascinating and fact-filled as this conversation is, I'm feeling kinda done. The tests say I'm fine." Expressed the Underestimated._

_"Star, please, these tests are for your own good."_

_"Ugh!"_ The Underestimated felt unacknowledged.  _"I am good! And, it sounds like Eclipsa didn't deserve to be crystallized. I mean, what's next?_ ** _Are you gonna crystallize me if I do something you don't approve of?!_** _"_

The question sent shivers down the Queens' spines, dreading the idea of being falsely punished by crystallization.

The Undaunted sighed and requested the Commission to leave. They left.

_"You know, when I first met Eclipsa, I trusted her, too. I didn't know any better. Truthfully, Star, you're very capable for your age, but–"_

_"Then why won't anybody listen to me?!"_

_"It's complicated. Eclipsa can be very... convincing. For your safety, let me handle this."_

_"What are you gonna do?"_

_"I'm afraid the only option is immediate re-crystallization."_

**_"What?!"_** The Monster Carver, the Uncalculated, and the Fun exclaimed with the screen.

_"No! No, no, no, no. That's so harsh. You can't just go crystallizing–"_

_"This isn't a debate, Star. I gave my orders to the Magic High Commission, and they're on their way to her cell as we speak. She's to be re-crystallized immediately."_

A static transition. A dungeon cell—the Queen of Darkness was in chains, facing the Magical High Commission and the Underestimated.

Rhombulus then stated that there were crystals growing out of his ass.

_"Well, Star,"_ The Undaunted was disappointed in her daughter's behavior.  _"You've caused quite the ruckus!"_

_"Will you all just listen to me for one second? Crystallizing people is a serious punishment, and so far, no one has been able to convince me that Eclipsa deserves it."_

_"Star, I know Eclipsa seems nice, but she can get into your head and make you do things you don't want to do,"_

Sarcastically _, "Oh, my goodness, you're right! Giving you that spell to destroy Toffee was her idea. Oh, no, wait!_ ** _You_** _were the one who went to her for help."_

_"Alright, I did, but—"_

_"And_ **_you_ ** _made a deal with her! When Toffee was destroyed, she'd be set free. Well, hey, Toffee's gone! Now you wanna go back on your word?"_

_"Star, look what her spell did to me,"_  The Undaunted pulled out her gloves, the darkness on her arms reaching past her elbows _. "When I performed that spell, I could feel the darkness...and it felt like I was the one getting hurt from it."_

She took a breath, further making her bearing more stern.

_"Eclipsa is_ **_evil_ ** _, Star. I know you don't believe it now, but if you wait to find out the truth for yourself, it'll be too late."_

The Underestimated crossed her arms—never had there been a princess as stubborn as her. The Monster Carver loathed how she could see herself in this insolent, yet so painfully and obviously wise girl.

_"Okay, fine. If she is as bad as you say she is, then put her in a crystal...until! Until you can prove it to me through a fair trial. I mean, she was a former Queen of Mewni—she deserves one!"_

_"Fine! A trial it is,"_

_"YES!"_  The Underestimated celebrated, chanting out,  _"Due process! Due process—"_

_"But I'm only allowing this because I want there to be no doubt amongst anyone in Mewni—I'm looking at you, Star—that Eclipsa is evil and deserves her fate."_

A static glitch. The Queen of Darkness was by the window, her feet shackled to the room.

The Underestimated walked in, wand in hand.

_"Eclipsa,"_

_"Star! I was hoping you—"_

_"Don't move,"_  The Underestimated stood in a defensive stance.  _"I'm gonna need some answers. Did you or did you not mess with dark magic?"_

The Queen of Darkness gave her an earnest look.

_"Well... I did what I had to do for me. If the Magic High Commission and your mother think that's evil, why,"_ She chuckled _, "you can call me a villainess."_

_"Wait, are you in my mind? They said you could be in my mind, and I wouldn't even know!"_

_"Definitely not. But if I were, I wouldn't tell you."_

The Underestimated stepped back.

_"That was a joke, dear,"_

_"Oh,"_ the princess laughed nervously.  _"That wasn't very funny...but that's okay,"_

She reached for her pocket but Glossaryck jumped out.

_"GLOBGOR!"_

The Queen of Darkness immediately caught him, giving him a knowing but confused look.  _"Glossaryck! Good to see you."_

_"GLOBGOR."_

_"He's been kind of a handful, lately,"_ The Queens couldn't help but question why Glossaryck was acting that way.  _"Can you do that thing you did earlier?"_

_"Are you sure?"_  She then gestured out jokingly,  _"I might...corrupt him."_

_"What?!"_ The Underestimated caught on quickly. _"Oh wait—that was another joke!"_

The Queen of Darkness coddled Glossaryck again, and like earlier responded well to it.

_"Okay, listen, just because I didn't want you crystallized again doesn't mean I trust you. I just want you to be treated fairly."_

A long static.

"Oh Eclipsa," The Monster Carver muttered to herself. "That's still my little girl out there."

"I still don't get how!" The Uncalculated voiced out. "She said to me that everything was fine...maybe if that pompous wretch Shastican had lived, I could've pulled some truth out of him."

The floor turned back into a yellow heart as the screen lit up again.

The Underestimated and a demon were shopping together—if the Queens' suspicions were correct, the boy in question was the Prince of the Underworld.

The shopkeep was shooing away a monster.

_"Hey Star, do you think this shirt looks good on me?"_  The demon prince pulled out a black shirt with simple tears.

Before the Underestimated could respond, the storekeeper called out to them,  _"That goes for you too, monster!"_

The prince glared at the storekeeper in anger. The storekeeper then ran and kissed the prince's feet in fear, apologizing after every kiss.

The Riddled felt a slight uneasiness, reminded of her King.

The screen glitched to the Undaunted, looking through stacks of scrolls. She paused in her motions, letting out an audible "No," at the sound of footsteps that afterward forced the door open.

_"Star, what did I say about kicking doors open?"_

The Eager tsked, "Her Johansen's showing."

_"You know how Mewmans kind of keep monsters separated from the rest of the kingdom?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Well, I was wondering--why?"_

"'Why?!'" The Monster Carver cried out. "For what reason does she fight monsters then?"

_"We keep monsters out because monsters are dangerous. You know that."_

_"Well, yeah. But--"_ Glitch,  _"what about people who aren't Mewmans but also aren't monsters? Like Rhombulus! He has snakes for hands. Are his snake hands monsters?"_

Glitch again,  _"--no! He's on the Magical High Commission!"_

_"--the Pony Heads?"_

_"We've had ties with the Pony Heads for generations."_

_"And Rich Pigeon? His kingdom is brand-new! And he's a pigeon with legs, Mother! How is he not a monster?"_

"There's a Pigeon Kingdom now?" The Fun questioned out loud.

"So they're the winning faction of that war, alright," Rambled the Chef. The remaining Queens didn't question about this new Kingdom further.

_"Well, dear...he's rich."_

_"I don't really see what that has to do with anything. And what about the Lucitors? I've seen Tom do some pretty scary stuff. Somehow he's not a monster? Okay, and it makes absolutely no sense that lizard people are monsters but Lekmet, the_ **_giant magical goat-man,_ ** _was not."_

_"Too soon, Star!"_

_"But what's the difference?! What the heck is the difference?!"_

_"Enough!"_ The Undaunted raised her voice in a terrifying tone and volume, such so that all the Queens flinched except for The Queen of Hours' children.

The Underestimated did not flinch either.

_"Look,"_ the Queen calmed down,  _"I don't make the rules. The Royal Monster Expert does."_

_"I'm sorry, but did you say we have a monster on staff?"_

_"Not a monster. A monster expert. Dr. Jelly Goodwell."_

_"Okay, then I'm gonna go have a little chat with this 'Jelly Goodwell' if that even is their real name!"_

A brief glitch of transition: a small monster village, The Underestimated and that frogman friend of hers, watching an old lady roll in the mud.

The Queens expressed the screen's same confusion.

_"...that's it,"_  The Underestimated was fed up with the sight,  _"so much for a monster expert."_

She then rummaged through a pile of clothes and pulled out a badge. She then stuck it onto the frogman's chest. He cried out in pain.

_"Where else can you find an expert on monsters than from a monster? As Princess of Mewni, I, Star the Underestimated, now dub thee Yvgeny Bulgolyubov as the new Royal Monster Expert,"_

A number of the Queens gasped.

"That line of logic kinda makes sense," The Fun quietly remarked.

He clutched his chest,  _"I-I'm...h-honored,"_

_"Aw Buff Frog, you're crying aren't you?"_

_"No, the badge. I think you broke the skin a little."_

_"Oh, I am so sorry—"_

Glitch.

**_"A-A-All knowledge—"_** The audio freaked out in the static,  ** _"g-good—k-know-know?"_**

A few Queens got chills from the glitching of what was clearly a quote from the Queen of Darkness.

The audio silenced itself as the static stopped on a new visual—The Underestimated was in some special room in the castle.

She and the other heirs of the Mewman kingdoms were all seated together in a roundtable. In the center were some sodas, chips, and a document.

The Underestimated waved her wand around the document—it began to sparkle and glow quickly, hinting enchantment.

On the document:

 

> **_ Petition of Friendship _ **
> 
> _ I hereby decree that Mewmins and Monsters shall live in peace and harmony with love and respect for all _

 

"A petition of friendship?" The Chef read.

The Eager scoffed. "Now that's just silly,"

"Didn't think her the type to deal with documents," The Fun remarked in surprise.

_"Okay, now we can call this one an official document by yours truly,"_  The princess remarked, placing it down on the table.

_"We should have the first line of business, y' know, as a means to help get our petition across,"_  Spoke Prince Kelpbottom.

_"Don't worry, I've been putting up a status update every update, and it's gonna get everyone talkin',"_ Added Princess Ponyhead.

_"No, we need like, a-a show, rather,"_

_"A show of power?"_  Asked Prince Lucitor.

_"Or like a show of fun?"_  Princess Spiderbite joined in.

_"Wouldn't that technically be both since we're all royalty?"_  Voiced Princess Jaggy.

Prince Pigeon suddenly slammed his cup onto the table,  _"Why not a party?"_

_"Party?!"_  The Underestimated voiced her confusion.

_"Yes, a party!"_  He reiterated.

_"Make it a fun one,"_ Whined out Prince Johansen. " _Every party that has all of us in it is always so boooring, or like dumb and really prissy,"_

_"Rock's got a point,"_  Prince Lucitor agreed.

_"Yeah, because they were always royal affairs,"_  Said Prince Kelpbottom. " _Come think of it, none of us ever threw a party like this altogether."_

" _Yeah, I dunno if a party is all worth it if it's fueled by political_   _hoo-hah_ ," Voiced Princess Spiderbite. " _Let's just invite monsters and leave it at that."_

_"I mean, as long as we show how...chill! Yes, chill with each other we are, this can totally work!"_  The Underestimated said.

_"I know just the place,"_  Prince Pigeon spoke up. " _It's been abandoned for centuries. It has some pretty good decor too."_

_"Is it safe?"_  Princess Jaggy asked.

_"My servants found it and came back alive, therefore it is safe,"_  Prince Pigeon insisted.

_"It better be, Rich,"_ The Underestimated cut back in, " _any casualty of sorts, Mewman or Monster, will undermine our goal for this party."_

_"Just as important—the other details?"_  Prince Kelpbottom interjected. _"When are we having it? How many people can we accommodate?"_

_"Don't forget the fun stuff,"_ said Princess Spiderbite.

_"Yeah! Can we like, manage a karaoke machine?"_  Asked Prince Lucitor.

The other royals made sounds of affirmation.

_"Yo, by the way,_ " Princess Ponyhead slammed her phone down on the table, " _I got some polls done—you're welcome."_

_"Wow, this is really convenient, Ponyhead,"_  The Underestimated was impressed, seeing as the princess of the Cloud Kingdom managed to make polls asking for some party requests and choices.

_"That's pretty perfect to me,"_ Prince Lucitor said.

_"Same,"_ Agreed Princess Spiderbite.

_"There's seems to be enough leeway time to get the cause across,"_ Kelpbottom said, pleased.

_"Let's hope this works out though,"_ Princess Jaggy said.  _"I'd really hate it if most of us just rebelled against our parents through this Petition for nothing,"_

_"I can assure you that nothing of the sort will happen, Jaggs,"_ The Underestimated tried to hide her worry.  _"I'll make sure of it."_

_"I won't lie though,_ " Prince Kelpbottom cut in,  _"but a lot of those seem really expensive."_

_"Let me handle it, everyone,"_ Prince Pigeon said. " _I'll take charge of the venue, the extra decor—practically everything!"_

_"Thanks so much, Rich,"_  The Mewman princess tapped her fingers against the surface of the enchanted document.  _"I hope it's not too much for you."_

_"Nonsense, Star. We all came here for you and your most noble cause."_

_"You can do it, Star,"_ Prince Lucitor whispered to her, hand on her shoulder.

Static. A long one.

"That will not go well," The Uncalculated remarked when the silence seemed too long to handle.

"As a party queen, I concur," The Fun joined in with worry. "It'll only put the human attendees in danger!"

"This generation seems far more ambitious, brave if anything," The Queen of Hours commented.

"What is she thinking?!" The Monster Carver loosened her braid, "Mewmans and Monsters in the same room will only result in chaos!"

"That's been disproven,"

"Comet here is right, Granny," The Eager replied. "It takes a real good Queen to get both under her bidding."

"All you did was subdue the monsters through fraud," The Heaped interjected.

"And what did  **you**  do, Dirhhennia?"

"Not escalate the situation," The Eager's sister spat with sarcasm. "I don't actually see the point in giving Mewmans a say in a  **Monster**  election, but deed's been done, I guess."

"Oh, for Corn's sake," The Chef cursed. "That party will go on fine! Star has a good support system—all her fellow heirs agree with her, she's a Mewman princess, and has attracted respect from Monsters her age."

The rest of the Queens looked at each other.

"I don't believe it enough, Comet," The Queen of Hours responded.

"You're proof of that," The Eager muttered inaudibly.

The Chef sighed, standing up. As she did, the static screen seemed to implode into itself, restoring the wall.

"That's odd," The Chef remarked.

The room shook, startling all ten of them. The floor began to flicker. All the tapestries, save for the Undaunted's and the Queen of Darkness's, began to glow in translucent light—in colors that matched the stones of which dug into the floor.

The shaking stopped.

"I guess that means we're done watching?" The Riddled said. "Or is there something for us awaiting?"

All the Queens were clumped together in the center of the room.

The same music that played before the screen was formed rang in the room once more, startling them.

The floor projected all four symbols. You know the ones.

"Look," The Shy was the first to notice, pointing at the empty wall, directing her fellow Queens to the two pairs of needles that emerged from the wall.

The pair at the left was made of common pebble rock. The other seemed to be a prismatic crystal of unknown origin.

Two pillars grew—under the pebble needles was a shapeless slab of plastic, turquoise in color. The other was amberized starglass, carved to form a crystal heart.

As the pillars rose, a seeming storm brewed from within the room.

"Ugh!" The Drafted made a noise of disgust, noticing the puddles she was making from a single step within the sudden flooding of yellow liquid.

The Riddled was startled by thunder that slammed right next to her.

The storm roared. The Butterfly family then compressed together, until the sudden magic of the place materialized a light projection of a familiar location.

"The Monster Temple?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry for this late one--i was actually considering discontinuing but i had so much unfinished drafts for this
> 
> this and my ok ko divided destiny fics are my priority so uhhh irregular update sched folks
> 
> plus i'm starting a crossover fic--svtfoe might get in there who knows
> 
> because i'm nice, here's a preview of a random future chapter:
> 
>  
> 
> **"Glossaryck, what did you do to me?"**
> 
>  
> 
> **"Well, you have to get dressed," His voice echoed. "The realm you're entering literally worships you."**
> 
>  
> 
> **"Why are you sending me to some random realm?! I have things to do!"**
> 
>  
> 
> **"Oh, you do have things to do," A door with a heart engraving materialized. "When I realized you wanted to destroy magic, I thought that you might want to think it through first."**
> 
>  
> 
> **Star stared at the door, its knob glowing.**
> 
>  
> 
> **"You've seen magic on the fritz, Star."**
> 
>  
> 
> **She simply growled, taking hold of the doorknob. "Come think of it, Toffee had the right idea."**
> 
>  
> 
> **"Are you sure about that?" Before Star could respond, she walked in.**
> 
>  
> 
> **As she entered, she saw the walls were lined with the family tapestries and pillars of various stones.**
> 
>  
> 
> **"The Grandma Room?!" She then noticed some differences between the brick and the built of the room. "Well, sorta."**
> 
>  
> 
> **She began walking by them, "Hello Festivia, Solaria, Eclipsa, Celena, Mom, me—Me?!"**
> 
>  
> 
> **She stopped at the sight of her tapestry—she was destroying magic, being watched by her family, Eclipsa's own, and the monsters of Mewni.**
> 
>  
> 
> **"I actually did it?" She then looked down at the crystal, as yellow as her wand's crystal.**
> 
>  
> 
> **"Huh, they got my title like how I wanted it," She put a hand to her chin. "So that's my greatest deed...was that really four days?!"**
> 
>  
> 
> **She then touched the stone, which caused a reaction of flooding, surprising her.**
> 
>  
> 
> **She immediately surfaced as the water drained away, spitting and choking.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Into her hands, a golden soup.**
> 
>  
> 
> **"What the?" She looked up and shrieked at the sight.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Her ancestors, ghosts, surrounding her—they immediately stepped back when she screamed.**
> 
>  
> 
> **"Corn, I'm dead!" She panicked out. "Glossaryck just freaking killed me—no no no no no!!!"**
> 
>  
> 
> **As she troubled on, her cheeks glowed brighter, and the water began to surface once more.**


End file.
